Unvanquished: Return
by chezchuckles
Summary: Beckett's January 9th anniversary. For those of you who wanted to know what happened to them after that train into France. Third in the Unvanquished series.
1. Chapter 1

**Unvanquished: Return**

* * *

_~Now~_

She'd wanted to come alone. But it hadn't worked out that way.

She'd wanted to because she enjoyed the solitude and the independence ever since those years of weakness and frailty. She'd set out on her own often, had discovered the nooks and crannies and hidden beauties of her adopted home. She'd found her core of inner strength because her physical endurance had so often failed her.

It had seemed important to do this alone today. To say hello and good-bye in the one breath, and all on her own.

But at the same time, those years of not being strong enough, of being in hiding, of needing Castle to hold her baby for her or carry her up the stairs had created in her now a softer and more mellow approach to life.

She didn't _need_ the reservation and stoicism to protect her anymore.

So even though she'd wanted to do this alone, Kate Rodgers carried the baby with her into the cemetery.

She brushed her lips across the warm forehead in appeasement, the baby's face pressed into her arm as the little thing peered out, eyes scanning and tracking the headstones as they passed. She tugged down the small cap, flicking one of its knitted bear ears, and those blue eyes startled to look at her before going back to their surroundings.

"I know. Never been to a cemetery before, huh, sweetheart?" It looked strange to her as well.

Kate shifted the baby, getting her forearm under that diapered bottom, tucked the blanket in a little tighter.

For a moment, her distraction disoriented her and the path seemed to twist in the opposite direction. She lost her bearings, had to stop in the middle of a row of _Foxes_ and blink through the empty feeling of wrongness.

But when the baby squirmed and tried to roll out of her arms, it helped reestablish her familiarity. The moment passed, the baby let out a little frustrated whimper of hunger, and Kate realized she had to make it fast.

"Okay, sweetheart, I know. Soon." She cupped the small head against her chest and started walking. Soon her feet found their way through the maze of headstones and right to her mother's grave.

She'd wanted to come alone for this.

January 9th the headstone read.

This was the day her mother had been murdered.

This was the day Kate Beckett had been pardoned.

* * *

Kate was surprised at the hollow center to her grief, the way the nothing swirled like single, solitary snowflakes in a grey and lidded sky. Silent. Cold. Strangely beautiful.

Her mother's name was straight and fine, set into the stone just under the broader, deeper _Beckett._ It'd been so long, but her eyes traced the same lines, the same etchings, the same feeling of black regret that rose up in her.

Remorse. Guilt. For so many things and in so many ways, and even as she stood in her navy peacoat under a winter-blue sky, she didn't know what else there could be for her, for the two of them - Kate and her mother.

Being back here made the years vanish, erase just like that, made that old sense of injustice and unfairness choke her throat and break open her chest.

And then the baby stirred and made those sweet little sucking sounds at her collarbone, and Kate was herself again - her most true self - Kate Rodgers.

Not Kate Beckett.

That woman had died, and in her place this one had been reborn. A better woman. A wife. A mother. European and American both, world traveler and book reader and lover. She still drank coffee, she still loved a mystery, she still teased Rick Castle. But she was so much _more_ now.

Kate fumbled at her coat pockets, tilting her body to keep the baby secure, and then pushed her fingers inside to find the cool strand of gold.

When she pulled out the necklace, the ring spun crazily at being freed, zipping fast like a ballerina en pointe, and then unwinding again. The baby stilled and watched as well, and after a moment, Kate swung the necklace out and caught the ring in her hand, closing her fingers over it.

She leaned forward, one hand cradling the baby's head, and pushed the ring into the dead winter grass at the base of the headstone. She dug easily, just enough to hide the glittering gold chain and the glint of diamond, and then she stood.

She pressed her lips to her fingertips and blew a kiss to the wind. Somewhere, somehow, the spirit of her mother had followed her no matter how far she was from this stone. And would always.

Then Kate Rodgers turned around and walked the wide path back to the front gate, her steps unfaltering, the baby warm at her chest.

Kate saw them at the gate, waiting on her, Castle with one hand pushed deep into his pocket, his other loosely holding on to Reese.

When the five year old saw her approaching on the path, she bounced up off the side of the car and leaned out against the leash of her father's hand, eager and full of questions. So many questions.

Kate smiled and came to them, leaving the cemetery behind.

* * *

Castle tucked the now-sleepy boy closer to his chest as they waited outside. He'd been fed, and Reese as well, but the adults were waiting until they got this over with. Their dinner would be a kind of celebration and homecoming.

Reese walked on her tiptoes over the cracks in the sidewalk and then spun around, her hair spilling in thick banana curls down her back. "Mommy, what about this place?"

Castle saw Kate glance at him to make sure he had the baby before she answered. "You know this one. _Gendarmerie, commissariat de-_"

"Oh yes. Police. Police station," she repeated. "Where you used to work."

"Good job, butter cup," Castle praised, reaching out with his free hand to skim his fingers through her hair and push it off her face. "Tell Mommy the word you learned while we waited for her."

"Mausoleum," Reese said with relish, her eyes growing wide and lighting up.

Kate laughed and rolled her eyes at him, but she was straightening the lapels of their daughter's coat, brushing invisible lint from the sleeve. He thought it was cute; Kate was nervous.

"Kate, hon, chill out."

She straightened and wrinkled her nose at him - or maybe at the baby; the boy wrinkled his nose back and laughed, stuffed a fist in his mouth.

"I'm fine," she said quickly. "Aren't I, Reese? Tell Daddy."

But Reese took her job seriously, putting her hands on her hips and tilting her head, studying her mother up and down. "I don't know. There are clues that tell me a different story. Your hair is all special and you smell nice and you're wearing your boots. Daddy you call those what?"

"What do I call Mommy's boots?" He was still grinning over that _clues tell me a different story _line she'd used on her mother. Clever girl. He'd said the exact same to her about a week ago when she'd sworn up and down she hadn't been the one to color the wall in the back of her closet. The clues had told him a different story.

"Yes, Daddy, boots. Um, _puissant. . ."_

"Ah, power heels," he laughed, turning and giving Kate a wriggle of his eyebrows. "See? I learned some French."

"Daddy's French is _l__amentable_," Reese said, coming back to them on the sidewalk with a little hop. "Atrocious, Daddy. It means atrocious."

"I figured," he said dryly, shaking his head at her.

Just then the door swung open and a Chief of Detectives that Castle didn't know was ushering them inside. "Please come in. You weren't supposed to stand outside waiting in the cold. I'm very sorry. The new security policies - it's such a mess."

When they were inside the lobby, Reese unbuttoned her coat first thing and gave a dramatic little shiver. "Mm, much warmer."

"What do you care, little peanut? You were dancing around out there and keeping plenty warm," Castle chuckled, cuffing her chin lightly.

She grinned up at him, that smirk of unrepentant mischief in her eyes. "Yes, Daddy, but he doesn't know that."

The Chief of Detectives barked out a laugh and took Kate's hand. "Detective Beckett, your daughter is adorable."

He could tell that Kate was already uncomfortable, so he reached out and snagged the squirelly Reese by the collar of her coat, tugged her into line beside him.

"I'm Rick," he said, releasing his daughter to hold out his hand for the man. "You're-?"

Their official NYPD representative shook hands warmly, politics in his every gesture. "William Benton, Chief of D's. It's nice to finally meet you. I was in a different precinct back when you two were here. Let's just say the NYPD has finally cleaned house."

Castle felt Kate nodding at his side and he shifted his hand back to Reese's collar, kept a loose hold of her just in case. The baby lifted his head from Castle's shoulder and gave the Chief of D's a long and intense stare.

_That's right, son. He's still a part of the 'justice' machine that rolled right over your mother._

But the moment of distrust and paranoia passed, as it always did now for Castle, and Kate was smoothing her thumb at the crook of his elbow as if to gentle him.

She knew him too well.

It was strange to be back inside the 12th, but Benton was already leading them through security - waving them through actually - and pushing the call button for the elevator as he talked about all the changes that had occurred within the NYPD.

Kate reached down and took Reese's hand as they stepped onto the lift, seemed to be listening politely.

But not Reese.

She let it be known that she thought the man pretentious and boring.

Castle winced at her tone, even if he didn't quite know all the words. Oh well. At least she complained in French.

Kate shot a glare at their daughter and arched an eyebrow.

Yeah, true. The words might be unrecognizable, but the whine and the disdain definitely translated.

Still, the Chief of Detectives, though no doubt thrown by their daughter's French if that look on his face was any indication, seemed to get the hint and stopped talking about how much better it was in the city, how they'd cleaned up so much of the Dragon's network and finally got that conviction on the Dragon's usurper.

The same one who had set Kate up for murder.

Castle still wasn't happy about the waiver they'd signed to get back here. Yeah, she'd been pardoned, but they'd given away their right to sue the city over her incarceration, the years they'd been forced from the only home she'd ever known.

He might have agreed not to hold the NYPD liable, but he'd never forget it.

The elevator doors opened onto Homicide and the Chief of D's led them off, gesturing for Kate to go ahead of him into the bullpen. Castle caught a brief glimpse of _everyone_ - Gates, Espo, Ryan, LT, Velasquez, more - before they were caught up in a rush of movement and noise.

The moment Kate stepped onto the floor, the place erupted in a standing ovation.


	2. Chapter 2

**Unvanquished: Return**

* * *

_~Then~_

Castle carried his newborn son close, couldn't quite believe they'd gotten to this point, how Kate Beckett had given him another child, such a beautiful boy. Healthy. Already watching him.

She groaned as he sat close on the hospital bed, her body slumping over into his. "He's got your big fat head, Castle."

He laughed breathlessly, eyes only for his son, and studied the lumpy, round skull. "Hm, could be true."

"Definitely true. This kid was exhausting work." But she curled around him, her cheek pressed against his chest, and he knew she was just as in love with the baby as he was. "Reese wasn't nearly so demanding."

"But she certainly is _now_." He grinned wider and glanced over at his wife, planted a rough kiss to her forehead. "I have a feeling this one is going to be much more laidback."

"Look at how easy he is," Kate breathed out, reaching a finger out to stroke down the baby's nose. He squirmed in Castle's arms and yawned, a little fist moving up next to his face. Still completely unperturbed.

Castle cupped his palm over the boy's head, glanced over to his wife. "So. We good with the name?"

She smiled back, and yeah, he could see the very real tiredness in her eyes, but she was hanging in there. Her exhaustion didn't scare him like it once did.

"Good, good," she murmured. "Very good."

"The French will say it wrong."

"But we'll say it right," she said quietly.

He nodded, stroking his thumb over the boy's cheek. He really did have a big head. Bigger than Reese's at birth. But this newborn had that same skinny little body - must be a Beckett gene. His head and Beckett's body - he was glad Reese hadn't gotten that winning combination.

"Are you sure about the name?"

"Castle," she chided softly, reaching out to smooth her fingers over the baby's head. "Name's perfect. I like that it has meaning, and my Dad will be honored. So say hello to your son."

He grinned around the choked up feeling in his throat and stared down at his baby boy. The grey eyes opened and he wondered, suddenly, if they'd fade to blue or darken into brown. Or maybe they'd be that shifting, ephemeral green.

"Hello, Jack Edgar Castle," he said softly. "Welcome to your family."

* * *

Castle groaned beside her, but Kate was already awake and sitting up in bed. She pushed her fingers against his forehead to keep him down, crawled over his body to get to the cradle. She felt his hand skim her back, and when she'd gotten to her feet, she glanced at him and saw his eyes were open.

"Sleep," she said. "I got him."

"I will," he murmured, but he didn't close his eyes.

Whatever. Let him be sappy. When it was his turn - if it was ever going to be his turn - she was going back to bed and letting him deal with the hungry baby all alone.

But this was her job now - hers in a way she'd missed out on with Reese. She was grateful to do it.

She watched the baby screw up his face, red and breathless, and she leaned over the cradle to blow across his cheeks. Jack gasped and he was distracted from his unhappiness long enough for Kate to reach in and scoop him up.

Floppy head, floppy body, so warm. He looked at her in indignation for taking so long.

"Temper, temper, sweetheart. Don't take after your sister."

Jack looked even less pleased about his mother's amusement.

She hummed and moved to the rocker in the corner of the room, settled down to let Jack nurse. When she'd gotten him latched on - no trouble there, greedy little thing - she lifted her eyes to Castle and saw him watching.

"He's an angry kid," Castle laughed. "That's gotta be all you."

"He's an impatient kid," she shot back. "And _that_ is all you."

He chuckled and flopped onto his back, scraping a hand down his face. She knew the feeling. She'd had to drag the rocker into their room because when she'd nursed Jack in their bed, she'd kept falling asleep. So not good.

She could probably fall asleep like this too.

"Did you see that email from Ryan?" he asked then.

Kate startled, causing Jack to startle as well, and the boy let out a plaintive mewl of displeasure before going back to his furious sucking. Kate winced and thumped his chin when he gummed her, and his intensity began to abate. It was like the kid thought she'd never feed him again.

"Ryan?" she said carefully. "No, I haven't checked your email in a while."

"I didn't forward it to you?" he murmured.

She shrugged. "Kinda been busy here, Castle. Having a baby, all that."

He snorted and gave a little laugh that she recognized as both acknowledgement and salute, and then Castle rolled onto his side and propped his head up on his hand.

"There's something going on with them. All of them. At the 12th."

Kate lifted an eyebrow, silently asking for more.

"I don't know what," he admitted. "But they've been cagey. I was trying to organize a Christmas or New Year's thing-"

"It's July," she laughed. Jack seemed a lot happier now, making those content noises against her breast. Little grunts and sighs. She dipped her head to look at him, found his eyes open and watching her.

Like his dad.

"I wanted to make sure they kept their calendars open. Plus your dad said he'd be visiting New York in January, and I wanted to arrange it around that."

"I don't think Dad minds if he's gone when all our precinct family's here," she said dryly, giving him a look.

He shrugged and continued to watch her, but she saw his mind was elsewhere. Probably with whatever alleged mystery occupied the 12th.

"They probably just don't want to make plans that far in advance," she said quietly, keeping her voice down as Jack's eyes began to slip shut. He'd dropped some weight since he'd been born, but he was beginning to regain it once more as his sleep patterns evened out. She wasn't too worried; Reese had done the same.

"Probably right," Castle sighed, his volume lowering to match hers rather unconsciously. She smiled at him for it, his automatic adjustment to sharing their bedroom with the newborn. "He done?"

"Just about," she murmured. "Honestly, I don't think he was really all that hungry. Just habit now. And maybe needy - just wanted me."

"Needy. Ug. Gotta break him of that. A three am wake up call is entirely unpleasant."

She smiled back at him, shaking her head. "Remember when I said the same about Reese? That you needed to break her of that habit she had-"

"But she wanted to play," Castle sighed. "It was sweet. She just wanted to see her daddy."

"At three-twelve every single morning?" Kate chuckled. Jack's eyes lifted open, struggled, and then slammed shut again. His little body gave it up, going slack in her arms, and she slowly stood, adjusting her shirt.

Castle slid over in bed as she laid Jack back in the cradle, and then she turned and joined him. She curled on her side and watched Castle try to excuse his coddling of Reese when she was a baby.

"Okay, fine," he sighed. "Let the kid wake up for a snack. But you're doing all the work - and aren't you exhausted?"

She laughed and turned into him, kissing the scowl on his face. "Castle. This is the least exhausted I've been in nearly seven years."

* * *

"_Maman, où est ma poupée_-"

"English, peanut."

Reese wrinkled her nose in displeasure, crossed her arms over her chest, and huffed off. Castle raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat, glanced down at the sleeping baby in his arms.

He risked it.

"Reese. Get back here right now," he yelled after her.

Jack startled awake and made a face somewhat akin to his sister's, actually, and Kate sighed at him, nudged him towards the couch.

"I can handle Reese," she muttered.

Their daughter came stomping back through the living room, the early morning sunlight streaking her hair with gold. Her shoulders were freckled from being outside all day, a little red on her nose, and her blue skirt was dirty right over her bottom. She'd been digging outside again, he'd bet. For worms. She liked worms, his prissy, demanding little daughter.

Castle waited, but the girl didn't uncross her arms, nor did she look at either of her parents.

"Reese," Castle warned. He wasn't sure how or why it had happened, but Kate had turned _him_ into the bad cop. He was the one disciplining her. Kate had gone soft.

"_Pas d'anglais__."_

Kate leaned over and snagged Reese's bottom lip with her thumb, pulled it out of its pout. "I know your friends don't speak English. But when you're at home, that's all we use. What about your poor _grand-père_?"

Reese opened her mouth to speak, but Castle actually saw the moment when she had to think about switching the language. Her nostrils flared at the necessity, but she used her English.

"You spoke in French, Mommy." Reese stepped closer to Castle on the couch, sank down beside him with a little flop of her skirt. "My poor _grandfather_ loves me even when he doesn't know what I'm saying."

"Touché," Castle murmured. Which clearly didn't help, but it did make Kate chuckle.

"See? Even _mon_ _papa _likes it better. Maybe if I speak it all the time, Daddy would finally learn."

Oh, he knew enough.

"We speak English at home, you little brat," Kate said, shaking her head as she came for Reese. She picked the girl up and sat on the couch with Reese in her lap, cuddling her. "What a mouth you have."

"My mouth is smart. It knows so much. More words than Daddy." Reese wriggled in her mother's lap and turned around, snaked her arms around Kate's neck and drew her knees up, trying to get small. She'd done a lot of that since the baby had been born.

"Well that's clearly not true," Kate murmured, brushing a kiss over her ear. "Daddy is a writer and he knows millions more words than you."

Castle leaned back in the couch and turned Jack so he could see his big sister, let Kate handle this battle. A never-ending war over language was what it was, and honestly, he couldn't blame the kid. She liked the way it sounded coming out of her mouth - she liked to talk. A lot.

"But I do know more. I could write bigger books. Daddy doesn't know _douves._ I just learned-"

"A moat," Castle supplied, lifting his eyebrow.

Reese startled and jerked upright, staring at him. Her cheeks flushed but she clapped her hands, lunged for him. "Daddy!"

Castle caught her with one hand before she could crush the baby, eased her away and into his other side. "Careful, peanut butter cup."

"Daddy, you do know it?"

"I say it poorly, but I know it. Why wouldn't I? I'm all about castles."

Reese giggled and kissed his cheek, brushing her own cheek over his jaw again and again. She liked the roughness of his stubble, and he hadn't shaved yet. It was sweet, and kinda weird. She was a Beckett in that way.

"You don't _write_ about castles, Daddy. That's just what they call you."

"I know. But it's fun to know the right words for what they call me."

"Oh, Daddy, it is. It's so fun to know the words. Why can't you know just a little more?"

"Because I want my girls to be able to talk to each other."

Reese sank back to the couch with a little sigh, but she had a secret smile on her lips that she finally leveled on him, blooming warm and proud.

"Alexis loves me best. More than Yoda."

Castle barked out a laugh and had to strangle it back at the cold, narrow-eyed look Kate gave him. "Peanut, uh, Mommy doesn't like us to call him Yoda."

"But you're right, Daddy. Look at his funny ears. And his big head. But he can't talk yet."

"He will though. Soon. I promise. Until then, let's just call him by his name."

Reese screwed up her mouth and he could tell she was plotting.

"His name," Reese repeated. "_Jacques._"

Kate reached out and thumped her ear, tugging on her hair a little to bring her back into Kate's arms. Reese screeched loud enough to startle Jack, but Kate covered her in growling kisses, trying to silly the girl out of her petulant mood.

"It's Jack. Say it," Kate demanded, wrinkling her nose back at their daughter. "Say it, say it, say it."

"No, no, no," Reese laughed back, giggling harder as Kate started to tickle her. Castle shifted down the couch to keep Jack out of the line of fire - a stray foot or two had begun to kick out in defense.

"Say it right, Reese's Pieces, say your brother's name."

"Ew, ew, ew. Not Pieces, not Pee, not Peeeee," Reese cried out, but she was giggling too hard to be all that effective.

"You are. You are forever, and ever, and ever my yummy little Reese's Peanut Butter Cup-"

"You're so mean! Soooo mean. Mommy, Mommy, stop," Reese shrieked, her laughter and gasping echoing around the living room. But Kate didn't stop. Instead she stood up with their daughter, swung her upside down, and started to carry her off towards the bedroom.

Castle glanced down at his peaceful, quiet son and saw Jack's eyes were round and attentive, entertained by the show.

"Uh-huh. That's what's you're in for, son. The women in this family are craaaazy. Not just the redheads, the Becketts too."

"I heard that!" Kate called from somewhere down the hall.

"We heard that, Daddy!" And then there was the loud oof as Kate probably dropped her on their bed.

"Good," he yelled back. "You were supposed to. You both are crazy."

He was _not_ looking forward to Reese as a teenager. She was five going on fifteen already. Crazy _and_ a diva. It was like living with his _mother_. Twice over.

"But maybe having a baby brother will soften her up," he murmured to his son.

Jack looked up at him with a disbelieving expression.

"Yeah, you're right. Probably not going to happen."


	3. Chapter 3

**Unvanquished: Return**

* * *

_~Now~_

It was a combination reunion and celebration - all her old friends and co-workers had shown up for it, the medal ceremony that the mayor wanted to do for the press, welcoming the underdog hero back into the fold.

Maybe it was just all of Castle's whining, but it had left a sour taste in her mouth as well.

Kate kept her eyes on her daughter as the girl flirted from group to group, enchanting the men and women of the 12th. She found herself in a knot of her conspirators - Lanie, Espo, Ryan - and she saw Castle with Gates, using their son to charm their former Captain.

"Was Alexis coming?" she said finally, realized she was interrupting some argument between Lanie and Javier. She hadn't been paying attention. The 12th - as much as she thought she'd missed it - had been spoiled for her.

"Yeah, honey," Lanie said quietly. "Alexis and her man are gonna be here for the ceremony."

She nodded and tracked her eyes to Castle, saw he was watching out for Reese as well. She brought her attention back to the group.

They were watching her sympathetically.

"Gotta be difficult, Beckett." Esposito gave her a brisk head nod and handed her a beer. She took it gratefully, a swift swallow that burned her nose and made her eyes sting for a moment. American beer. Been a while.

"It's not the same," she said finally.

Lanie threaded her arm through Kate's, patted her hand. "Did you think it would be?"

"No," she chuckled, shrugging and letting them see her smile. "Didn't exactly want it to be, either. This is. . .nice. But I'm not exactly comfortable with the medal. It's obvious Benton is posturing for the public."

"He is," Ryan agreed quickly. He'd been Captain of the 12th for a year, and Kate hadn't seen him since the promotion because of that. "But he also knows what he's doing, Beckett. The deal is good. We all looked it over, signed off on it."

"You nervous about that?" Lanie asked.

She shrugged. "For Rick. You guys. That was somewhat unclear - you all helped me escape and they haven't exactly-"

"Naw, don't worry," Espo said quickly. "Benton thought it would look bad to name us as co-conspirators - NYPD involved in liberating one of their own? So he kept it on the down low. We're good."

She huffed a breath and scraped a hand through her hair; it was shoulder length, longer than it had been since her time here, longer because Jack liked to chew on it. Made him happy. And she liked the way it felt, have him at her shoulder and digging in, a content little bug.

"Still don't exactly like it," Kate admitted. "But if anything ever comes of it - you know we'll put everything we have behind you."

Lanie hugged her closer. "We're fine. This is for you, Kate. An apology from the city-"

"A half-assed apology," Espo said darkly.

Lanie shot him a glare. "And a medal of honor from the mayor for your tireless pursuit of justice and truth-"

"Not that I don't appreciate what you guys have done for me to make this possible, my being here, but it seems like a load of crap."

Lanie chuckled and bumped her friend's shoulder, making Kate stumble to the side, off-balanced.

Damn. Still not quite up to par when she was caught off guard. Lanie was looking at her apologetically, but Kate waved her off. "Do you think-"

"Mommy, Mommy!" Reese came running for her, jumped at the last second, and Kate managed to uncross her arms and catch her daughter. Ha. Still upright. Some things she could do.

Reese squeezed her arms around Kate's neck and gave her a big, loud kiss. Putting on a show for the people watching. And when Kate glanced around, almost everyone was watching.

"Little diva. What's up?"

"_Comment on dit menottes__?_"

Kate burst into laughter and found Castle's gaze, his eyebrows lifted in question. Jack was watching her with those big blues as well.

"Handcuffs," Kate answered. "_M__enottes _is handcuffs, peanut. Where'd you see those?"

"Kay - K - Kart. . .she did have them." Reese gave up and pointed.

"Karpowski?"

The woman pushed through the crowd with a beer in one hand, her handcuffs prominent on her belt. "Sorry. That was me. I didn't know what she was asking."

"English," Kate murmured to her daughter, nudging her nose into Reese's ear before turning back to the detective. "No problem, Karpowski."

Kate heard the ding of the elevator and turned her head as the doors opened. She saw the vibrant hair and the round, creamy complexion of the woman's face, and she grinned widely.

"Hey, Reese. Look who I see."

Reese hooked her arms around Kate's neck and leaned out to see past the crowd. "Oh, it is _ma soeur_. She is here, Mommy, she is here." Reese wriggled to get down, and Kate let her go, followed after her.

Alexis bent over to scoop up her little sister, their heads meeting and a flurry of kisses being exchanged. Their French was rapid and excited, and Kate turned her head when she felt the hand at her hip.

"Castle," she murmured quietly. He grinned and winked at her.

"Peanut's been working the room," he said back. "So far - a handful of chocolates from a couple detectives, a few uniforms let her wear their hats, and then there was a lot of giggling with Karpowski."

Kate lifted her eyebrow. "I didn't know Karpowski _giggled_."

"I know," Castle said ominously. "Want the baby? I'll say hi to Alexis."

She turned and took Jack from him, brushing noses with her happy son as he grinned and gave her that open-mouth kiss, slobbering his love. "Hey, Cracker Jack. Miss me?" His fists closed around her ears and she kissed him back, chuckling at his eagerness, his babbling excitement.

She saw Castle greeting his daughter, one of those great big hugs that always made the world feel right, and then he was letting her go and shaking hands with Dean.

Kate came forward, juggling Cracker Jack in one arm and reaching a hand out to the top of Reese's head as she tried to worm her way back into the center of attention.

"Hold up, peanut," she murmured. "Let Daddy have a second."

"Oh, Kate," Alexis said then, coming for her with a tight hug. "And Jack Edgar - look at you, big boy!" She laughed and looked at Kate. "Wow. Reese was right. His head is _huge_."

Kate rolled her eyes and nudged the back of Reese's head. Her daughter swatted at her and ran for Dean, throwing herself into his arms.

"She's such a brat. When'd she tell you that?"

"Video chat the other day. She's fine. She's actually really proud of him, I think. She went on and on about him. She usually only talks about herself. It's a good thing."

Kate bit her lip and watched Reese cozy up to Dean, hugging him around the neck, giggling, before she reached out an arm to her father to bring him closer too. Kate shook her head and let the scene finally relax her, all of her family here now, everyone in the same city, the right city. Home.

It'd been a while. It had been. . .a very long time.

* * *

When they were all sitting in the makeshift rows of folding chairs in the bullpen, waiting for it to get started, Castle glanced back to the elevator. Still no sign of the mayor. His respect for this whole thing was plummeting rapidly.

Alexis and Dean were on his left, whispering to each other with soft little smiles. He liked to see it. Jim and Martha were still traveling - their flight had been delayed in San Francisco, but they'd be here soon as well. Reese was between himself and Kate, and she kept turning around to peek at the people behind them, waving her fingers at Javier or Kevin. Jeez. He was gonna have to keep a closer eye on her. The flirting had been cute when she'd been three years old, but soon it'd be entirely inappropriate.

It'd be too much like his mother, actually, and that scared the crap out of him.

"Turn around," he murmured to his daughter, pressing his fingertips into her knee.

Reese huffed and flopped back in her seat. Castle gripped her by the chin and leaned in to kiss her cheek. She hummed and wrapped an arm around his neck, pleased with him again, giving him a sly smile.

He let her go and sat back, glanced around at the assembled group. Everyone was beginning to look around, anxious for it to start, and while Kate was fortunately distracted with Jack, the natives were getting restless.

"Mommy," Reese stage whispered.

"Yeah."

"Mommy, I can hold him? Please?"

Castle cast a startled glance to his daughter, met Kate's eyes in shocked surprise. Reese had shown a marked disinterest in her little brother, only recently consenting to his avid and constant attention in the same room with her.

"Of course you can hold him," Kate answered, lowering Jack from her shoulder and nodding for Reese to get ready.

Castle put his arm over the back of Reese's chair and watched the transfer. Kate kept a hand at the baby's head for a moment, just to be sure. Jack was a big six month old, and Reese's arms looked stick thin in comparison. But his daughter held the baby like a pro and cradled Jack up against her chest. She had to pull her knees up into the chair, cross her legs to give the boy a place to rest.

"Hey, look at that," Castle said softly. "Doing good, Reese."

"He likes me," she said, sounding _surprised._

"Reese, your brother adores you," Kate laughed, leaning over to kiss her cheek, combing the girl's hair.

"He's heavy." Reese gave her mother that raised eyebrow, a mirror of Kate's. "But don't worry. I got him."

"You do, huh?" Kate was smirking, and she lifted her head to Castle. He unfurled his fingers form the chair and nudged her shoulder. She had that soft, tender look in her eyes that he loved.

"Hey," he murmured. "Up for this?"

She pressed her lips together and took in a breath, a little shrug of her shoulders.

Yeah, that's what he'd thought.

"Attention, if I could have your attention."

Castle glanced forward and realized Ryan - Captain of the 12th Precinct - had stood nervously in front of the assembled group. The participants hushed, then fell completely silent. Castle saw the Mayor had arrived.

One of the late senator's hand-picked minions, still in power, still elected. Hadn't the damn city learned their lesson?

He couldn't believe Bracken's legacy lived on. The damn mayor. The Chief of Detectives couldn't make that better, no matter how many medals the man gave his wife, how much he boot-licked and kowtowed and apologized.

Some things could never be forgiven.

Castle felt Kate's hand come over his on the chair, realized he was gripping it too hard.

"Rick."

He cut his eyes to her and she was shaking her head. But his jaw was tense with it.

Suddenly, Reese's unquiet, clear voice cut through the stiff silence. "Daddy, look. Jack is chewing on my hair! Like he does to Mommy!"

There was a ripple of laughter through the crowd, Ryan seemed to relax, and Castle cast a grateful look down to his daughter.

"Thank you, sweetheart. Daddy needed that."

"You're welcome," she said, wriggling self-importantly in her chair. Then she leaned towards Kate. "Mommy, what did I do?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Unvanquished: Return**

* * *

_~Then~_

Kate stroked the hair off her daughter's forehead, watched Reese's eyes grow drowsy in their bed. It was naptime, but the girl hadn't truly slept during an afternoon nap in years now. She had the feeling that Reese had agreed to lying down with her solely to kick Jack out.

Reese was terribly jealous, but she needed to know the world didn't revolve around her. Better sooner than later.

Castle came through the doorway with the baby, but he paused at threshold when he saw them. "She asleep?"

"Getting there," Kate murmured, propped up on the pillows as she cradled their daughter.

"No, 'm not," Reese sighed, but she turned her face into Kate's chest and blinked slowly.

Castle came to the bedside and eased carefully down to the mattress. His eyes kept shifting between Reese and Jack, like he couldn't make up his mind which child to adore first.

Kate smiled and stroked her thumb over the soft shell of Reese's ear, brushing the hair away from her neck. She'd gotten Castle's coloring, but she spent so much time outside that it'd turned golden around her face, highlighting the darker locks.

"Leave him in here," she said finally, noticing that Castle still hesitated.

"Yeah? I promised Dad I'd take him to that new used bookstore. I could-"

"No, you go. Meet him. He had his woodcarving group and-"

"Yeah, I know. It would be hard to reach him to cancel. I can't believe he won't carry the iphone we bought him."

"He hates it. He says there are too many alerts." Kate smirked and shook her head, nodded to the mattress. "Set Jack down right here with me and Reese."

Castle did, putting the baby on her other side and blocking him in with a pillow. He leaned over to brush a kiss to Kate's lips and she felt his smile forming. He moved to Reese and the little girl struggled awake to wrap her arms around him, murmuring French endearments into his ears.

"No idea, peanut butter. But I love you too."

Castle leaned back and winked at Kate, his palm coming out to settle on Jack's belly. "You got him?"

"I got him."

"All right. I'm going." He stood up from the bed and Kate curled her free hand over Jack's skull as he slept, letting Castle know she was paying attention. He finally left the room, only one or two wistful backward glances.

* * *

When Reese finally fell asleep, Kate worked herself free and turned over to play with Jack. The boy was awake and happy, those huge blue eyes in his round head. She hadn't loved his round head when she'd been pushing it out, but look how adorable he was. She loved the brush of soft hair over his scalp, the wide and round heft of him in the bed.

"You're like a little football," she murmured, laughing when he gurgled back at her, grinning just like a Castle. "You gonna play football, Cracker Jack? Maybe _grand-pere_ can teach you to throw."

Jack jerked his arms and legs in happiness, his eyes focused on her, his movement shaking the bed. Kate felt Reese stir and lift up; she turned her head and the girl yawned widely and flopped down over Kate's side, her chin digging into her mother's ribs.

Kate winced but put an arm around her daughter, smoothed the sweaty hair back from her face. "Good nap, peanut?"

She sighed and burrowed her cheek and nose into Kate's armpit, wriggling closer so that she was draped over her mother. Kate rolled her eyes, such a drama queen this little one, and she scratched Reese's back to help her wake.

"See your little brother? Look how happy he is," she murmured. "He's done with his nap too."

Reese wrinkled her nose and reached out a hand to Jack, but the baby could only bounce happily against the mattress.

_"Quand est-ce qu'il pourra jouer avec moi?"_

Kate sighed, but she knew it was more difficult for her to switch languages when the girl had just woken up. "He can play with you when he gets a bit older."

_"Il est pas marrant_," Reese pouted, withdrawing her hand.

"But he will be fun. I promise. You know how much fun it is to play with Daddy? Well, Jack will have so much energy - he'll want to play all day with you because you're his big sister. And you can boss him around a little at first, tell him what comes next. He'll adore you. Look at him, he adores you already."

And it was true. Jack was watching her with those big beautiful blue eyes. Kate reached out and stroked her fingers down his face just to have him nuzzle her, rooting into her hand. She laid her palm over his fat belly and smiled at him.

Reese huffed loudly and lifted up against Kate. "_Est-ce qu'on peut le rendre?_"

_Can we give him back?_

"No." Kate turned and narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "And you're supposed to be speaking English. Come here, crawl over me and let's see if we can make Jack smile."

Reese didn't seem very happy about that, but she crawled over Kate to burrow down at her mother's chest.

"_Sa tête est trop grosse_," Reese pointed out.

Kate laughed and snuggled her daughter closer, kept her from touching that _fat head_ she'd just pointed out. "Well, not _too_ big. It's just his arms and legs - they look so skinny compared to his head. And your head wasn't small either, peanut. But, I'll admit - you were tinier all around."

"Yoda," Reese said with relish.

Kate tugged on the girl's hair, shaking her head with a sigh. She strained to think of something else to connect the two siblings, a way to bring Reese into the quiet circle that she and Castle had unwittingly created around Jack.

Reese leaned over and snatched her brother's hand. Kate jerked to catch her, but Reese was only splaying the baby's fingers out over her own. Jack latched on, a stronger grip than Kate had yet to see, his eyes riveted to his sister.

"_Regarde ses tous petits doigts_," Reese murmured thoughtfully.

"He's so small," Kate added. "And his toes. Look, sweetheart." She drew off one of Jack's socks, let Reese wrap her childish hand around his foot.

Her daughter crawled out of the circle of Kate's arms and hovered at the baby's side, dipped her head close to look at his toes. Jack's arms jerked out happily, enthusiastic sounds coming out of his mouth. Reese laughed and lifted her head to peer at his face.

"_Ses yeux sont_...blue," Reese trailed off and reached one small hand up to pat the top of his head. "His eyes are blue."

"And Daddy's too," Kate murmured, smiling, strangely relieved.

"And my sister's," Reese said carefully, lifting her head to look at Kate. "Daddy's other little girl."

Kate kept her eyes steady on Reese, but she wondered if this was a little insecurity from their daughter. Was that why she'd been so dismissive of her new brother?

"Yes. Alexis," she said calmly. "She has Daddy's blue eyes. But she's not really a little girl anymore, is she?" Was that what Reese wanted - to be Daddy's only little girl?

Reese looked at Jack for a moment and then she turned a serious face to her mother. "Do I have to stop being Daddy's little girl?"

"No," Kate said, shaking her head. "In fact, I think Daddy would be very sad if you weren't his little girl."

"But why isn't Alexis? Do you. . .not like her?"

Kate bit her lip to keep from laughing - the child's terrible logic. "I love Alexis. And maybe I got you confused, peanut. Daddy still calls Alexis his little girl, doesn't he? I meant she's not little like you are - she's a lot older, and she lives with her husband, and she'll have little girls of her own soon."

"Do I have to move away too?"

"No, butter cup, never. You can stay with us for as long as you want."

"I always want to stay. Will Jack leave me?"

"No. Jack is your brother. You guys are stuck together. Do you think Alexis left you?"

"She left me," Reese said quietly, then let out a tremulous little breath and raised her tearful face to her mother. "She did leave. And I never see her, and she's my favorite, Mommy, but I never get her anymore."

"Oh, poor little abandoned thing. Come here," Kate murmured, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. Reese absolutely hated it when it looked like her parents were laughing at her dramatics.

Reese slid into Kate's arms and huddled there, making little pitiful noises.

"Reese, what drama, sweetheart. I know you love your sister, and you miss her. I miss her too. Daddy misses her. But she visits us, and we video her, and she hasn't stopped loving you."

"Video is not enough," Reese mourned. "Why can't we visit her instead?"

Kate swallowed and suddenly it wasn't funny anymore. It wasn't Alexis's fault that her husband was from the one place Kate could never go. Alexis had spent enough time agonizing over that as it was, but Kate and Rick couldn't - wouldn't - punish Reese for it.

"You can visit her," Kate said quietly. "But since Jack is just a little baby, it should be you and Daddy together. I'll stay home with Jack."

"But you do miss my sister too?"

"I miss your sister too." Kate reached out and stroked her finger down Jack's cheek, watched him turn his head to see them. "Do you think we can be happy with just us here? You, me, Daddy, and our baby Jack?"

Reese let out a tender sigh and picked her head up from Kate's shoulder. Her eyes were dry though, not a single tear, and Kate figured she'd needed someone to acknowledge all the changes.

"I'm happy, Mommy. I do want more people, but maybe if Jack is good, we can get me a baby sister?"

Kate laughed and reached down to scoop up Jack, bringing him into their embrace. "Well, let's see how well you two like each other, and then maybe - you never know."

"Don't let it be another brother, though."

Kate chuckled and cradled Jack against her chest, let him see his sister. "You get what you get, my little drama queen. And that's not a yes, either. That's a family discussion we'll have when Jack is much older."

"Much?"

"Much."

"Sigh."

Kate laughed at the _spoken_ sigh from her daughter, and she reached out to curl her fingers in Reese's hair, giving it another little tug. "Okay, enough of this. Want to go see if Gram is home?"

"Oh, yes. She will let me play and speak French all _day_."

"What a lucky girl you are."

Reese stood on the bed and then jumped down to land with both arms up, gymnastic style, her face beaming as if she was imagining her adoring crowd in the audience. She bowed and turned to her mother, came in against the bedside to reach for Jack.

"I can bring my little brother? He has to watch us play the fun things."

"Oh, he does?"

"So he can learn, Mommy. You said he'd play."

"When he's older."

Reese rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "But he has to know what to _do_."

"Calm down, peanut. If you want Jack there, I guess we'll all go. But I'll have to carry him. You find Gram's key on its hook and we'll unlock the in-between doors."

"Oh, yay!" Reese scampered off, Jack's head turning to follow her path until she disappeared down the hall.

Kate let out a breath and reached for her phone, arranging Jack against her chest, calling her husband. When he didn't answer, she left a message instead.

"Remind me to tell you about Reese. And Alexis. We need to talk."


	5. Chapter 5

**Unvanquished: Return**

* * *

_~Now~_

Kate stood slowly from the chair, untangling from her daughter who now, of course, wanted to be all over her mother. Reese sat back with a huff, letting go when her father squeezed her neck, and Castle watched Kate make her way to the front of the bullpen.

The television crew was filming B-roll for the story they were doing on the event, but he noticed that Kate didn't even look at them. Alexis's fingers came to his elbow and he turned his head to give her a grateful smile. Kate stood next to the mayor, her eyes that hollow and flat brown that he hated to see, but at least Ryan was next to her.

The mayor gave another speech about persistence and justice and doing one's duty to the city, and then he shook Kate's hand and presented her with the medal in its blue velvet case. She took it seriously, not even a smile, and Castle's heart squeezed at the look on her face.

Reese tried to crawl into his lap, and he had to shift Jack out of the way of his sister. Alexis smoothly took him from Castle, and he could get both arms around his middle child. When he dipped his head to chastise her for kicking Jack out, he realized she was shaking.

He kissed her instead, hugging her tighter, and saw she was staring up at her mother.

"Mommy's fine," he whispered. "She's just fine."

But he knew how Reese felt, sitting here in front of the long panel of men in their uniforms and the lonely figure of his wife standing before them. As if on trial.

But Kate straightened up and the place was quiet, waiting on her word.

"Thank you for this. . .honor." The way she said it left no doubt as to what she truly felt, and Castle couldn't help his smile when her eyes met his. "When that jail cell closed behind me, I never expected to be back here. When I left my city so broken, I never wanted to be back. But I've discovered today that it's good. To see you all and have no fear of injustice, to know I'll never have to do it again."

They all knew, could tell what she meant; their knowledge was a living thing in the room, unspoken but crying out in the silence.

"I wouldn't be standing here without my family - my team from the 12th." Here she reached out and snagged Ryan's sleeve, and then her eyes traveled over all of them. Her gaze included them, made them once more part of the struggle, once more fighting for her life. "You all."

Castle was proud of her. His throat closed up because he could see her struggling to remain impassive. She hadn't wanted to cry, even if the tears were good and healing. She was straight and she was strong, and he wanted to stand and applaud.

"You all are truly my family. Not just because you made enough noise to bring this all to light, to right the wrongs, but because - when it mattered - you put your careers and lives on the line for it, for me." Breaking her out of jail, they knew, they could feel it thrashing in the room. How she'd been framed and railroaded all because her mother had been stabbed in an alley. "And my husband - who had the strength, the courage, to kill what he loved to save my life. And has given me - so very much with that sacrifice."

"Daddy, what does that mean?" Reese hissed, twisting in his lap. It was loud enough that the first couple rows heard and chuckled softly, needing the outlet. The mayor was looking distinctly uncomfortable, and he scowled towards Reese.

"Hush, peanut," Castle murmured, squeezing her knee. "Tell you later."

Kate's eyes caressed them and Castle gave her an encouraging smile. She finally looked down at the medal in her hands, traced her fingers over the surface, and then she shut the lid on it.

"This day is a reminder to us of what we've accomplished. But it's a reminder to them as well: Truth conquers all."

* * *

The moment she was allowed to sit, Kate gratefully accepted her daughter's attention-seeking hug, let Reese demand her mother and the crowd's love by clinging to her and wrapping her arms around Kate's neck.

"I got you, sweetheart."

"Mommy," she sighed out, burrowing closer. And then Kate felt Castle's fingers at her shoulder, a light touch, and she smiled over at him to let him know she was fine.

The ceremony was over, and people were coming by with their congratulations, all of them reminded by her words of what she'd endured, what Castle had done, how they had gotten here. But she hoped the presence of her children, the happy baby and the unintentionally amusing girl, would allay some of that sense of horror.

She had it herself, still, from time to time, and it was her family that drove it out. But now was the time to banish it.

Reese climbed out of her lap when she grew tired of it, the endless line of well-wishers like a funeral. Kate let her go and watched to be sure Castle had picked up the trail of their daughter with his eyes - someone had to watch her.

Kate stood in her place and felt Lanie now at her side, the woman's bright personality and her quick wit doing so much to stave off the worst of it. Kate was still stuck with the mayor and Benton, who were both milking the publicity shot for all it was worth. She posed and smiled when the news crew asked, realizing even as she did so that this was the most alone she'd been in years.

Dean approached, butted into the whole ordeal with a huge hug around her shoulders, the younger man's personality turning the tide. Kate felt her stiff back begin to loosen, her shoulders drop, and she sighed gratefully into his shoulder.

"Good man," she murmured.

He laughed, vibrantly, and let her go. "On orders," he said back, nodding his head towards Alexis. She had Jack, and seemed stuck in the middle of the baby's admirers, but she was looking anxiously over at them.

"I see. Well, thank you both." She smiled at Alexis's husband, squeezing his elbow, and now people were breaking off from their group, the mayor was turning to the tv reporter and answering questions. Kate let out a long breath of relief and saw Ryan make his way towards her.

"Hey, boss," he said with a grin, and she shook her head at him.

"Looks like there's a new boss."

He preened a little for her benefit, then he wrapped his arms around her for a hug. She huffed in surprise but embraced him back. She'd been surprised, at first, that Jenny wasn't here. But after the medal ceremony had started, she knew why. The falseness prevalent in the whole thing would've infuriated Jenny; she'd have been fighting with Kevin for sure afterwards.

Which might have relieved a lot of the tension still clinging to them all.

"I'm so sorry," Ryan forced out, letting her go.

She shrugged. "It got me here."

"A lot had to be compromised for it," he sighed. "I don't know that it was worth it."

"It's okay, Ryan. It's what had to be done. I wouldn't have accepted it if I didn't know what I getting into."

He nodded and took her hand in a squeeze, then he turned away to deal with the business of the precinct.

It was time for them to go as well.

Dean nudged her shoulder, and she turned to look, saw Castle coming for her with Reese caught up in his arms. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and went to meet him.

* * *

Castle kept Jack against his chest and let Kate handle Reese. It would be a short subway ride, but the girl was used to Paris's metro. It was strange how Reese had dropped the French entirely now, how only a few hours surrounded by people who had admired her and who she also adored had pushed the thought of her little language rebellion right out of her head.

Kate settled in beside him on the subway, her shoulder touching his, and Reese sat perfectly at her mother's side, the proper little lady. She and her grandmother - such peas in a pod. Jack garbled his happy baby words and bounced in Castle's lap, so he let the boy stand, pushing off against his father's thighs as he made love to the window over Castle's shoulder. It was mostly his own reflection and the flicker of lights in the tunnel between stations.

Kate chuckled. "He's enjoying himself."

"He really is. It's obscene."

Kate gave him the honor of a real smile, teeth showing, her mouth wide, all of it brimming in her eyes. She looked beautiful, and reserved still, and he wanted her to finally be at rest.

"PBC is quite well-behaved. All English as well," Kate murmured.

Peanut Butter Cup. Yes. "She's managed to transition fairly well. Are you still thinking we'll stay-"

"Yes," Kate nodded. "For a season at least."

"You've missed New York," he said softly. But he knew; it wasn't a question. He'd known she longed for it, could see her restlessness as her strength had returned, but he realized she hadn't known it herself for what it was.

"I have," she sighed. "I didn't think it would hit me like this."

"It won't be the same," he warned her.

"Oh no, thank goodness," she laughed. The laughter helped. A lot. It made his chest ease and he balanced Jack against his shoulder as the baby bounced in his arms.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Castle, we're bringing two kids home with us, and Alexis has her own place, and there's just more time. More time to be - us."

"That's what you think," he grinned back. "More time."

"Well," she laughed again, a little flustered. "More time to be - New Yorkers. Not detectives."

He glanced past her to their daughter sitting so avidly at attention, Reese's eyes taking in her fellow passengers, intently studying the stylish woman across from them. "Yeah, you're right. Good for the kids too. See where we grew up. Connect the stories."

"Stories?" Reese piped up, leaning around her mother to look at him. She got to her knees in the seat and crawled over Kate to worm between them. "You said you'd tell me later. It's later."

Kate raised an eyebrow, but he nodded. They'd already talked about this - for ages and at some length, getting it just right. The story they'd tell their children.

Because something had to be said. A way had to be found to the other side. They'd started the story at Reese's bedtime, and she'd seemed mostly uninterested, but now having the people and the places behind it, having the way it felt in that room - unspoken, but obviously the girl had been aware of it. . .

"Do you remember our bedtime story about magic?" he asked.

"Harry Potter?"

"No, peanut," Kate laughed softly. "The fairy tale Daddy told you."

Reese wrinkled her nose. "Oh, you mean the lady with the long hair?"

"Rapunzel," Castle affirmed.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Mommy is Rapunzel."

* * *

Castle had given her the keys and carried Jack in the elevator; Reese danced on ahead the moment the doors opened and Kate followed.

It was - so strange. Being here. She'd never made it here, that night, never made it into the elevator. She'd been arrested right outside his building, his mouth opening on a question and his hand in his pocket because he'd been about to ask her to marry him, and she hadn't known it then, but he'd been delaying for that very reason.

And now she walked down the hallway of his building with all of her dread sloughing off of her like a second skin, disappearing with each step. Reese came back to her eagerly; she wanted to see where her parents had lived before her mother was locked away in a tower, _cruelly separated_.

Reese's own little addition to the tale: _cruelly separated._ She was a little drama queen, but she hadn't exactly gotten it wrong.

Kate stopped at the door and took in a quick breath, shoved the key into the lock. It stuck at first, but she pushed, remembering the trick, and the door came open.

"Home again, home again," Castle murmured.

"Jiggity jig," Reese giggled, pushing past her mother and on inside without her parents' sense of reverence. "Oh, look. It is all clean and pretty. Daddy, look at all these windows. I can see so far!"

Kate followed her family inside the loft and shut the door behind them. The furniture had been moved with the renters' occupancy, and the kitchen floor and appliances were new, but it was still their home. She was surprised by that, actually, surprised it still felt like hers at all.

"Where's my room?" Reese asked, trailing her fingers over the couch and turning back to them.

Kate shot Castle a panicked glance - she'd - they hadn't even talked about that. She just - was there even-

"I got everything set up, peanut. Come upstairs."

He held his hand out to Reese and nodded at Kate to say he'd thought of everything, and she reached out to take Jack from him, giving Castle a kiss of thanks on his jaw. The baby gabbed at her, little noises that sounded like his sister's excitement, and he got a fistful of her hair and chewed.

Kate kept him close and followed her husband and daughter up the stairs. They'd talked about getting a crib rented for Jack, and a bouncy seat, swing, all those essential baby items. But Kate supposed she'd expected there to be beds upstairs available - maybe Alexis's old room?

The former occupants - she didn't know them, had never met them - had rented the place furnished, had kept it carefully in order, but she was grateful that it didn't have the strange residue of their touch everywhere.

"All right, little diva, look here," Castle was saying. He pushed open the door to Alexis's old room, and it was so very strange, seeing her little girl walk towards the purple bedspread, run her fingers over it adoringly, her eyes taking in the bright spots of blue and green across the room.

"Oh, Daddy, it is all my favorite colors."

"It was your sister's room when we lived here."

"Alexis lived with you?" she gasped, both hands at her mouth in surprise. Kate barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes, bounced Jack as he leaned out of her arms to get down.

"Alexis lived in this very bedroom. I thought you would want to sleep where she slept." He leaned over and picked her up, plopped her on the bed. "It's a new mattress, new sheets and stuff," he said to Kate, his eyes compassionate. "The linens are all new. I should've mentioned it, but I did it all at one time."

"It's perfect. I didn't even think of it," she said quietly.

"Mommy, this was Alexis's room," Reese bubbled up, throwing herself towards Kate. Castle intercepted, saving Jack in the process, but Reese kept squirming for her. "And now it's my room. All mine, but Alexis could sleep with me here if she came to visit. Do you think she will?"

"She might visit a lot, but I don't think Dean wants to sleep in here with you," Kate laughed. She bent over and let Jack lay on his belly on the floor; he scooted and jerked, trying to get moving.

"But my sister," Reese sighed.

"You can always ask," Kate suggested softly. When she was sure Jack wouldn't get into anything, she stood again and reached for her daughter, kissing her cheek. "She and Dean will meet us here for dinner."

"Are we going out?" Reese asked regally.

"Yes, peanut. We're going out."

"Where are all my things? My toys and books and clothes, Mommy?"

She glanced to Castle with a raised eyebrow; he'd taken care of all that.

"They boxes of stuff we shipped ahead of us are already here. Open your closet."

Kate let Reese go and she jumped over her little brother and made for the closet door. Reese threw it open with a satisfied little noise, turned brilliant and trembling eyes on her parents.

"Oh, look. Look. It's all here. Everything."

"Couldn't leave your clothes in Versailles without you," Castle joked, coming up behind her.

Reese leaned in and began touching each and every item, and Kate rolled her eyes and scooped down to pick up Jack again. Ew. Trying to chew on the bedspread. "Rick, I'm going downstairs to look."

"Yeah," he called over his shoulder. "Be right there. Gotta check inventory."

She hummed something in agreement and headed for the hallway.

Once down the stairs, she carried Jack through the living room and hesitated on the threshold of Castle's study. The bookcases had been rearranged, the books and collections placed haphazardly. She wondered how much had stayed here and how much had gone into storage. She'd missed his books, the smell of him in their pages, the way they looked behind his desk. They'd never been able to quite replace the sense of his office here in any of the homes they'd had.

Jack's squirming and babbling was the only thing to keep her from feeling like a ghost, and she smiled at him in gratitude as he tried to get down. "Not yet, Cracker Jack. I don't think Daddy baby-proofed the place. Stay with me and let's check out the rest of it."

She turned him around so that his back was to her chest, let him see his surroundings. He quieted down, his fingers at his mouth and making soft, self-soothing noises, and she stepped through the study to put her hand at the bedroom door.

When she pushed it open, she saw it had changed.

She didn't know whether she was disappointed or relieved, but it wasn't the same. The furniture was all new - he'd warned her about it - and the bedspread and sheets were things they'd bought together and had shipped here ahead of them. The moving service had done an excellent job getting things ready, but it had the touch of a hotel rather than their bedroom. The lion and elephant prints he'd always had in the bedroom were gone, and she didn't remember seeing the big polar bear in the living room either.

Kate let Jack down on the bed, smoothing her hands over the soft material, and then she wandered towards the bathroom to peek in.

That looked the same - hard to change a bathroom all that much. That shower, mmm, and the jacuzzi tub, the well-lit sink - putting on her make up too early in the morning for a body call while he shuffled in behind her, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. Standing right at this vanity mirror, she could see back to the bed, and it flashed before her now, crowded out the reflection of her son - the rise of Castle's shoulder as he slept and her quiet stand here at the sink, reminding herself that this was exactly where she wanted to be, that living with him was so natural because it was so right.

She turned and moved back into the bedroom, smiled back at her goofy boy, and sank down onto the bed with him. He grabbed her finger and held on, tried to stick it in his mouth. Kate kissed his forehead, smelling their place in Versailles on his skin, smelling his baby shampoo and milk and laundered clothes.

Castle came in at that moment, alone and grinning widely, but he paused when he saw them.

"Hey," he grunted, cleared his throat when that didn't work out so well. He looked stunned.

"Castle," she murmured. "You okay?"

"Just - strange. I saw Jack first, and then I came in and here you were on the bed and it's not the same, but it is. But-"

"I know," she said softly. "Come sit with us."

He did, stretching his legs out over the bed to block Jack in. The boy had already flipped over onto his stomach, was pushing off against the mattress to get moving. He'd be crawling in a matter of days; Kate could feel it.

"It's so strange," Castle muttered. He held out a finger for Jack and the baby tried to lunge for it. Kate laughed and dragged Jack into a sitting position, moved back against the headboard herself so she could lay her head on Castle's shoulder.

"What's Reese doing?"

"Counting her shoes."

"You are kidding me." She watched Jack balance, his blue eyes blinking as he took in the room.

"Nope. She thinks she's missing a pair of red ones."

"Oh, jeez. When do our parents get here? She needs some Martha time."

"I know, right? Who knew my mother would be our saving grace?"

Kate laughed and brushed her lips against his jaw. "I love your mother. Especially because she takes Reese away for a couple hours and we get back a saner, calmer little girl."

Castle gasped in mock horror. "Are you honestly suggesting that our daughter is crazy for shoes and sequins and drama?"

She wrinkled her nose at him and watched Jack work to maintain his sitting position. He waved a fist and stuck it in his mouth, grinned around it happily.

"Yeah, at least my mother can exhaust her. I know Reese isn't your type of-"

"Oh, Castle, she's fine. I don't care. I do sometimes wonder what we'll possibly have in common when she's older, but I like shoes as much as the next girl. We'll max out your credit cards."

She turned her head to make sure he was grinning - he was, widely, laughingly, tenderly - and she stroked her fingers over his knee.

"She was also grouping them by colors and reorganizing her closet according to seasons," Castle added slowly.

Kate laughed, pressed a hand over her mouth. "Oh, that's me. Okay. Well, there's that too then."

"Uh-huh. Thought you might like that. She told me she would come downstairs and do our closet next. The way Mommy likes it."

"Oh, no," she groaned, burying her head against his shoulder. "That is so my fault."

"It really is," he hummed. "But the diva - I suppose that's the Rodgers in her."

"She has a terrible case of the Rodgers," Kate agreed, smiling again.

"It's a hereditary disease, though. Not catching."

"Thank goodness. I'm not sure it would fit so well on Jack."

She lifted her head to nudge the boy with her knee; he toppled over onto his side and laughed, flipping over again and trying to scoot for them. Kate leaned down and pulled him up in her lap, stroking a hand over his soft hair.

"It'll be good here, Kate."

She glanced over at him with a sigh, but she nodded. "I think so. Just for a season, Rick. Just to see."

"I think you'll love it."

She was afraid she would.


	6. Chapter 6

**Unvanquished: Return**

* * *

_~Then~_

Kate growled as Jack fussed against her chest and Reese continued to be a brat. Where was Castle? Where was anybody for that matter? Her father was with Castle - hopefully on a plane home right this second, but his mother?She had to feed this poor kid and the other one needed to _do as she was told_.

"No!"

"Reese," she snapped. "Right now. Bath time."

Reese huffed and threw her crayons across the living room, marking the wall opposite in livid streaks of fuschia and evergreen.

Kate went still.

Reese turned round, wide eyes to her mother, shock flickering across her face, and then that stubborn, dangerous tilt came to her chin and she screamed.

Jack startled hard and opened his mouth in a competing wail, making the room echo with the sounds of her children throwing tantrums.

"Reese!" she yelled, jerking forward and grabbing her daughter by the arm. "I don't want to see you for the next twenty minutes. You get in that bath."

Reese's screaming turned into sobbing just like that, but the tears weren't real, and it was more holding her breath and shuddering than anything else. Kate pushed her towards the kids' bathroom and ignored the panicky flutter that always started up when she felt outnumbered, overwhelmed.

Two kids. Just two kids. She was _not_ outnumbered.

"Mommy," Reese cried, reaching back for her.

"Twenty minutes. You better be in that bath when I come find you," Kate called out, walking away.

She heard Reese's sobbing as she left, and of course, the girl was going to stand in the living room and hiccup through the last of it, of course, she was going to act pitiful and needy and wail for her mother as loud as she possibly could.

But Jack had been waiting for an hour to nurse, and he was only eight weeks old. He had no idea why his mother was holding him and refusing to feed him. And his inconsolable cries tore her heart in a way that Reese's drama never could.

She closed the door on their bedroom, shushing Jack with her lips against his head, jiggling him as she quickly unbuttoned her shirt. The second he felt her warm skin, he let out a pathetic little cry and nuzzled into her, finally no longer wailing. She could still hear Reese, still _feel_ Reese, so she opened the closet door and hid.

She hid from her five year old.

Kate Beckett Castle Rodgers - whatever, whoever she was - was hiding from her own child.

It'd be humiliating if it weren't so damn _quiet _in here.

Jack whimpered and latched on before Kate could even help him, and she sat down on the floor and leaned back against Rick's cubby of shoes. Her shoulders slumped as Jack sucked, and she closed her eyes.

After five minutes, she heard Reese stop suddenly.

Then the low and male tones that had apparently gotten her under control - either Castle or Kate's father, she didn't know. A little shriek of protest from the girl, and then stomping feet down the hall.

She kept her eyes closed until the closet door opened.

"In here again?"

She sighed, opened her eyes to Rick. "Did she show you what she did to the wall?"

"She did."

"I think she scared herself."

"Uh-huh."

"I was gonna do damage," she admitted, shifting Jack a little to ease the ache in her arm. She'd been holding him for two hours straight, trying to find a moment around Reese's demand for attention to get back here and do this. Next time, she was just going to whip it out at the kitchen counter and make Reese suffer through.

_Ew, Mommy, that's so gross._

Castle sank down to the floor beside her, stroked a finger over Jack's head. The boy's eyes fluttered shut. "She's putting away her art supplies and then getting in the bath. She was half-naked when I walked in. Guess she was in the process of obeying?"

Kate snorted and opened her eyes again, turned her head to look at him. "Thanks."

"Yeah. Sorry I was late."

"I thought your flight was getting in at noon."

"Got delayed. You didn't get my text?"

"I haven't had time to even _look_ at my phone." She growled and rubbed her forehead, tried to put that out of her mind. "How was the book signing?"

She carefully didn't ask, _How was New York?_

"I think your Dad loved being there with me. I'm - it's been strange, having him just next door to us all these years. And then going back with him - without you. Pretending together."

She stroked her finger on top of Castle's, still resting on the baby's belly as he fed. "Paula didn't give you trouble for it?"

"No," he said softly. "You know she completely backed off after you died."

Kate gave a half grin at that, felt some of her sanity returning to her. "Not like her at all."

"Nope," he laughed, kissed her cheek. "I went back there, Kate."

She swallowed hard and nodded against him.

"I talked to Ryan."

She realized it was a struggle to even care, to keep up with this conversation when she had her beautiful son in her arms and they were enclosed in this quiet, tranquil space. But she saw something in Castle's eyes that made her breath catch. "What? What did he want?"

"He wants us to come back."

"No."

"Kate, he-"

"No."

"There's a deal on the table."

Kate sat up, dislodging the baby; he only blinked at her, surprised, and she nudged his cheek with her finger, helped him back to it. She took a breath.

"What do you mean, a deal?"

"The mayor-"

"Bastard."

"Yes," he said gravely, but a touch of amusement was in his eyes. "But he knows."

She shivered hard and canted towards him, her head hitting his shoulder. "I - we should've - I should've been more careful. It was stupid to keep-"

"Kate, honey, it's not you. It wasn't either of us. He went back through the case at the request of the new Chief of D's; he figured it out. He went to Lanie and talked-"

"Did he threaten her?" she whispered.

"Not. . .exactly."

"Castle," she moaned.

"We can make it right. The mayor knows, the Chief of D's knows - and they've talked to the boys too. But he wants to work a deal. Some good publicity for himself and everyone's covered. Let bygones be bygones is how Ryan put it."

"I don't like it," she murmured, opening her eyes to stare down at her sleepy son. His little mouth around her, that fist at her chest. "It doesn't sound right."

"No one has admitted to anything," he said. "No one has come out and said, straight up, that you're still alive."

"Thank God."

"And we won't. They won't."

"You think we should do it." She lifted her head to look at him, suddenly aware of how small the closet was, how it couldn't protect her at all, none of them. How the real world could still get her in here. "You think we should do it?"

Castle turned towards her and wrapped his arms around them both, his mouth at her temple. "I think we have to."

* * *

"Quietly," Castle murmured, carrying his sleepy daughter into the bedroom. She smelled clean, that fresh soap and baby's shampoo scent to her skin, and her hair was damp down her back.

"I'm quiet," she sighed back, her arms tightening around his neck. "Missed you, Daddy."

"Missed you too, peanut." He kissed her cheek and caught Kate's eye. "And no, you're not quiet, are you? Screaming and pitching a fit when I got home. I think we need to talk about that."

Reese gave him a pitiful and whimpering little cry, buried her face against him. She was in her pajamas and ready for bed, but Kate had told him to bring her to their room instead.

"Jack's asleep," Kate said softly, lifting her hand and putting it on Reese's back, soothing circles. "So no more screaming, no more crying tonight, sweetheart. We'll talk and have a bedtime story and maybe you can fall asleep in here and Daddy will carry you back to your room."

Reese twisted in his arms and reached for her mother; Kate took her easily, holding her tightly, and Castle stayed at her back to make sure she had the girl. Kate eased her down to the bed and got in after her, so Castle followed, sitting on Reese's other side.

"I'm sorry I screamed," Reese said, snuggling up to her mother with a sigh.

"When you threw your crayons-"

Reese moaned and pushed her face into Kate's chest. Castle reached over and shook her loose, rolling his eyes at Kate. "You've already had your consequences. We're going to talk about it, see if we can't figure out a way to avoid the screaming next time. So none of that tonight."

Reese's mouth pulled down into a deep frown, but she stopped being quite so pitiful. Kate was sitting up against the headboard, and she moved Reese to cuddle next to her.

"Did it surprise you, sweetheart? When you threw your crayons?"

"I didn't mean to."

"I could tell," Kate went on. "But you got upset with me and when you get upset, you do things you're not supposed to. You pitch a fit."

"I do. I'm a holy terror."

Castle grunted to smother a laugh, but he was afraid he couldn't quite make quell it. "Ah, well. Who said that?"

"Gram. She says we're both holy terrors."

"Well, Gram is saying that in love," Kate interrupted. "But I don't think you're a terror. I think you have passion, and strong feelings that sometimes get the best of you. But that's why Daddy and I are here, to help you not throw crayons."

Castle stroked the hair back from Reese's face, curling the wet strands behind her ear. "Peanut, do you know why you were so upset? Was it because I hadn't gotten home yet?"

Reese's mouth set in a stubborn line, but she gave him a look from under her brows. "Mommy said you went to New York. With Grandpa."

He nodded. "I did. For the books, remember? I told you I had to go meet people and put my books in all the bookstores."

"In New York," she said again, a little more insistent, but her pout was turning down again, her eyes tremulous.

Kate's mouth slowly dropped and she reached out and squeezed his shoulder like he should know what that meant. He shrugged at her and mouthed, _what?_

"I want to go to New York," Reese mewled suddenly and twisted over into Kate once more with shuddering breaths.

Kate sighed and combed her fingers through Reese's hair, leaned over to kiss her cheek. "No more crying, Reese. We're done tonight. Sit up and tell Daddy why you wanted to go to New York with him."

He was already reaching out to the girl, but his heart softened at the misery in her eyes. Despite himself. She could always get to him, little melodramatic Reese. Even though he knew what she was doing, knew she convinced herself it was such a great tragedy until she was sobbing and - well, throwing crayons against the wall and screaming.

"Alexis never comes to see me," Reese moaned.

Castle squeezed her arm in warning and she sniffled it back, rubbed her hands at her eyes. So much harder to control herself when she was tired, but he and Kate were determined not to let her grow up thinking hysteria could get her what she wanted.

"Alexis lives in New York," he said finally, raising an eyebrow at Kate. They'd talked a little bit about taking her one time, but they'd decided there was just no good explanation for why Castle would be traveling with a five year old girl who looked like a miniature version of Kate. Only with Castle's round face and calling him daddy.

It just wasn't possible right now. Especially not in New York.

"I want to see my sister," she cried, sucking in another deep breath and letting it out with only a small whimper. "I never get to see her. You and Grandpa went without me."

"Okay, peanut," he murmured, reaching over to gather her close. She shivered and clung to him, but he kept his voice even and light, tried to help guide her away from another meltdown.

Kate leaned against him and put her hand on Reese's back, scratching her nails over the girl's pajama top and kissing her cheek. "Sweetheart, Daddy's trip was for work. You and me and baby Jack - we don't get to go with Daddy to work. Daddy would want to spend all his time with us when he should be doing his job."

"I don't want you to work," Reese sighed, lifting her head to look at him now. "Not without me."

"I don't believe that for a moment," Castle chuckled, leaning in to kiss her nose. "Because I always bring you back presents and last time you said I should go on more trips so you could get more presents."

Reese gave him a secret smile and dropped her eyes, her fingers twisting in his shirt now.

"Uh-huh. You just want to see Alexis. And Reese, I think that's very sweet. You love your sister. And she loves you. But sometimes we don't always get to see the people we love as often as we want to."

"Will I never see her ever again?"

"Of course you'll see her," Kate scoffed, wrinkling her nose at Reese and jostling her a little. "You know better. She comes every Christmas, and she comes for your birthday. She comes for Daddy's birthday too. And remember? She's coming in a month to see her new baby brother. And you too."

"Oh, that's soon," Reese supplied with a hum of contentment. "Tell me a story, now, Daddy? I was so sad, I need a good story."

"You're not so sad anymore, are you?" Castle asked quietly, cupping his hand over her head. "Because sad little girls get tickled."

"Not in here they don't," Kate said, pushing on him. "Not with-" She jerked her head towards the cradle where Jack was sleeping and he winced.

"Oops. Okay, tickling will have to be put on hold. Story it is."

"Tell me about the woman with the long hair. Was it like mine?"

"Almost as beautiful as yours," he murmured, lifting his eyes to Kate and winking at her. She huffed and pushed up to kiss him, a rich welcome home.

Mm, lovely. Now he didn't want to tell stories at all.

"It starts like this, Daddy. Long ago."

Trust Reese to ask for the one story that he really didn't want to think about right now. Not with New York so fresh, and the things Ryan had said.

"Daddy. Long ago."

"Yes, yes," he murmured to her impatience. "Long ago in a land across the sea, there lived a beautiful woman with long hair. Her name was-"

"Rapunzel!"

"Shh," he murmured, kissing the top of her head. Kate had already slipped out of bed to check on Jack, but she smiled and came back, nodded for him to continue.

"Rapunzel was her name. Her parents had loved her so much, but an evil magical Dragon had killed her mother when she was little and stolen her away."

Reese shivered and opened her eyes, looking up at him with such adoration that his heart caught. "And the evil Dragon locked her up."

"He did," Castle nodded, cleared his throat as he looked over at Kate. He was having trouble going on.

Kate sighed softly and leaned in against him, drawing her arm around Reese. "The evil Dragon locked her in a very high tower with no doors and no stairs leading up. Just one small window."

"One small window. But the Dragon. . ." Reese started.

"The Dragon would fly in every so often to check on his prize, to make sure his prisoner was still under his control. He'd breathe fire and terrorize her and she'd try to be strong and brave, but there was nowhere to go. And then he would fly away, leaving her alone again."

"She was so lonely," Reese sighed, her eyes drooping. Castle rubbed his hand up and down her back.

"She was very lonely. But she never gave up hope," Kate said quietly, nudging her nose into Reese's cheek and kissing her. "Until one day, a man came close to her tower, saw her at the window."

"A brave man," Reese supplied, her eyes flickering open and then shut again.

Kate looked up at him. "A brave man," she agreed. "But he wasn't a knight in shining armor; he didn't have a sword or a shield or a fierce army. He had-"

"Words," Reese murmured, her voice catching and sighing as sleep tried to claim her. "He wrote her ballads and poems and all kinds of words."

Kate quirked an eyebrow at him but he shook his head. She kept going. "That's right. Words. He talked to Rapunzel high up in her tower; he made her feel less alone. She confessed that an evil Dragon had stolen her, that she was locked behind her wall-"

"Tower, Mommy."

"Tower, my bad, peanut. She was locked behind the tower. Soon they discovered that if she let down her hair, he could climb up. She couldn't leave, but he could at least be with her. So every day, he came to visit, even though both of them knew the dragon might swoop inside at any minute and kill him for it."

Kate's eyes met his, and a sharp surge of fierce love cut through him. He untangled his arm from Reese and wrapped it around his wife, curled tightly at her shoulders to bring her closer. She lifted her mouth to his, soft words murmuring against his skin that he didn't hear but still understood.

They were safe. They were still safe. The people in New York couldn't get them.

"The brave man soon figured out how to save her life," Kate continued. "But they had to kill Rapunzel to do it."

Reese stirred between them. "But she didn't really die. She didn't really."

"She didn't really," Kate said softly, leaning down now to kiss their daughter's forehead. "They were only going to make it look like she was. The brave man found a poisonous plant that grew in the forest nearby. He climbed back up to the window and kissed Rapunzel, and then he gave her the poison."

"But they were scared," Reese said, shifting in his arms. "They didn't want to do it. It was. . .extreme measures."

Kate chuckled a little and glanced at him for that. "An extreme measure. Yes, it was. Very good, sweetheart. So they waited, hoping another plan would present itself. But one day, the Dragon swept into the window, breathing fire."

"The Dragon was so angry," Reese went on, lifting her head from his chest. He gentled her again, pushing her back down, hoping she'd settle and fall asleep.

Kate stroked her fingers through Reese's hair as she got to the next part of the story. "He had heard about the brave man visiting her. He had spies all across the forest. And he was so angry that he cut her beautiful hair so that the brave man could never see her again. And then he left her. For weeks, the brave man appeared at the window, but she was not there. She couldn't - she had nothing to help him get to her, and she thought it would be better if he didn't have to see her face. But the loneliness was worse. She realized she had no other choice."

"So she ate the poison and she died," Reese sighed, a hint of relish in her voice for the drama of it all. "And then the Dragon came back."

"The Dragon came, thinking his prisoner was dead," Castle started up, clearing his voice to finish it with what strength he could. He didn't want to prolong it anymore, the way Reese like to do - adding in all kinds of weeping and wailing. "And the Dragon was so angry that he took her up in his claws and flew out of the window, and then he dropped her from a great height."

"But the brave man was there to catch her," Kate said quickly. "He'd been waiting that whole time, hoping she could do it, afraid she really would die. He waited for her. And he caught her."

"And he woke her with a kiss," Reese smiled, opening her beautiful dark eyes to them. She threw her arms around both their necks and gave them kisses.

"Then they lived happily ever after," Castle said firmly, gathering Reese up again. "And now, peanut, it's time for bed."

"Can I sleep with you?"

Kate stilled him with a touch and he saw she'd been just as affected by the story as he had. The specter of New York had been thrown over their lives once more, like a deep shadow.

It'd been Kate's idea to try to explain their past in a way that wouldn't scare their daughter, their children, and he'd come up with the Rapunzel fairy tale, refined it over the years. It had always been fun before, trying to secrete parts of their own lives into the story.

It didn't seem to fun anymore.

"You can stay until you fall asleep," he said finally, lying back with her and arranging his daughter in the bed between them.

Kate slipped down under the covers and wrapped an arm around Reese, kissing her. He watched them, the two of them close and whispering to each other, and then he moved down beside them as well to wait for his daughter to fall asleep.

He wanted his wife; they needed to talk about this.

About the deal they were putting together in New York.

And how far the Dragon's shadow was still cast.


	7. Chapter 7

**Unvanquished: Return**

* * *

~Now~

Kate violently woke in the darkness to the thick and confusing rush of noise.

Baby monitor.

"Jack."

She scissored her legs and was out of bed before she realized where she was, smacked her hip into the dresser as she left the bedroom, ricocheting down the hall. She was blearily stumbling for the living room when she felt strong arms around her waist.

Kate gasped and jerked, but he was apologizing and soothing and turning her around.

"Kate, it's just me, sorry; back to bed, honey. Come on."

"Jack. What are you-"

"Not Jack. Jack's fine. Just a dream or something."

What?

But she let herself be led back to the bedroom, felt him crowding at her back as he shepherded her towards the darkness.

"Listen," he murmured and she saw his hand reach for the baby monitor on the bedside table. He turned it up and she realized it was just night-breathing from her son. Nothing more. "Heard you wake and say his name. Came after you."

Castle rubbed his hand up and down her arm, squeezed her tricep as he replaced the receiver. She swayed there for a moment, indecisive or still confused, she wasn't sure, and then she crawled into bed after him.

He was. . .rather lucid and awake for three in the morning.

She curled up along his side, slid her fingers over his chest until she could bury her cold hand at the warm skin of his waist. He flinched but held her there, dragged the bedcovers up over their bodies.

"You been awake?" she mumbled.

He shrugged.

"Writing or. . .?"

"Or."

She sighed, figured that both of them were probably going to have fitful nights until they felt safe here.

In New York. Not his loft, just the city. She didn't feel safe here. That was the problem. She hadn't consciously realized it until this moment. But she didn't.

He probably didn't either. "Know what helps me?" she murmured.

"What?"

"Making a plan."

He gave her a dry chuckle for that, drew his arm a little tighter around her. "Of course it does. A plan. What's your plan?"

"If they come for us-"

"That's not really helpful."

"Gotta have a plan. For the kids. If they come-"

"I'm not sure this is going to make me sleep easier."

"It will," she insisted softly, burrowing closer because she could, because they _weren't_ coming for them. "It will because you have a vivid imagination, Castle, and you need the story, how it would all play out." She was careful to use the conditional tense; she wondered if he heard that.

"Oh."

Uh-huh. Did she know him or what?

He cleared his throat. "So. When they-"

"If," she said quietly.

"If they come. They come for everyone. Lanie, the boys, my mother and your father as well because they're accessories."

"Yes," she said slowly. Then swallowed hard. "And - and Alexis. Probably."

He grunted and she squeezed him a little, lifted her knee to hook over his thigh.

"Dean?" he said finally.

"He might not - he could say he knew nothing, but-"

"He wouldn't."

"He wouldn't," she agreed. Not if Alexis was taken, Dean would go too.

"I don't think this is helping."

"The kids," she said. Because it actually helped, it did. She'd spent an hour lying in bed tonight, listening for the baby monitor, before she worked it out in her head. And then she'd fallen asleep.

And dreamed. Yes. But still.

He prompted her. "The kids would go. . ."

"To Jenny."

"Oh," he said, like a little sigh of relief. "Jenny. Yeah."

"And they'd not be able to hold everyone for long. Especially not our parents. That's circumstantial at best."

"Because they weren't part of the prison break," he murmured.

She smiled into his chest, felt her shoulders ease even as his body seemed to unwind under her. "Exactly. They'd be able to get the kids."

"Makes sense."

"Whatever happened to us-"

"You can't be tried again for the same crime," he said quickly.

"No, true. But for conspiracy to-"

"Oh. Yeah."

"We'll get a lawyer," she said, stroking her fingers along his hip bone. "You can afford the best."

He laughed at that, a burst of air that seemed to deflate all of his latent anxiety. "That's true."

"We put the kids and our parents on a flight home."

"Home," he said, something reluctant and sad in his voice.

"And we skip the country the moment we can," she finished. "You know a guy to get us passports - I know you do - in case ours are seized. Which they will be."

"Yeah, we're a flight risk."

"Most definitely a flight risk. And we bring everyone with us. Espo, Lanie, Ryan - Jenny, too."

"And their kids."

She stilled. "Yeah. Right. Yes." She'd forgotten that for one small second. Ryan's kids. "They'll leave first with our parents and the kids." She realized she was carefully avoiding saying her children's names, like that could ward off the dark story she was telling him.

"Yeah," he said finally. His hand came to cup the back of her head and he sighed out. "Yeah, you're right. That helps."

She smiled in the darkness of their bedroom, wondered if they'd be this - them - like this if prison and the escape and living in Russia and then Versailles had never happened. Would they have kids? Would they have missed Reese and only now be starting their family? Would she have gotten caught in that shootout that clipped Ryan two years ago and earned him the Captaincy? Would-

"Mmm," Castle mumbled and turned into her, tangling their limbs together. His mouth landed at her neck and she laughed softly. "They won't come."

She stroked her fingers through his hair, caressed the back of his neck. "They won't come."

"I don't even know who _they_ are anymore."

She hummed her amusement. "Me neither."

"I could sleep," he said, his voice already fading.

"Sleep, then, Rick."

She'd keep watch for a little while longer. Keep his nightmares away.

* * *

He woke when a body landed on his back.

Castle groaned and twisted his head only to have soft, brown hair obscure his view.

"Sorry, sorry, go back to sleep," Kate was murmuring.

He reached behind him and felt the little body, an elbow, a skinny knee, and he dragged his daughter off of him and into the middle of the bed. "What's cracking, peanut?"

But Reese didn't laugh, she just curled tighter and reached out a grasping hand for mommy. Kate was just climbing back into bed and she bracketed their daughter on the other side, Reese's parents like parantheses around the girl.

"PBC wake you?" he murmured.

Kate nodded.

"Came in or-"

"I got her," she said under her breath then stroked her fingers through Reese's hair. "Only until you fall back asleep, right Reese?"

"I was so scared."

"Oh, really?" Castle yawned, totally used to a few nighttime dramatics from her. "Why's that?"

"I woke up."

"Waking up scared you?" he scoffed, jostling her in the bed.

This time he got a little breathless giggle. "No, Daddy. It was all - not mine."

"Oh, your room was different. Mommy did that too. She ran into the dresser."

"Ouch, Mommy. You hurt?" Reese had twisted her head to look at her mother, little hands seeking. Always the best thing for Reese - redirect her natural compassion outwards instead of inwards. If she lamented and moaned and wailed over herself, she did the same - with the same fervor and intensity of feeling - for others as well.

They'd taken home quite a few stray animals as a result. He'd put his foot down at the cricket with the broken leg. Broken? More like snapped in half and dangling-

"I've got a bruise," Kate was saying, her toes coming to his knee around their daughter, a little nudge. He liked to think it was her way of saying, _You're so smart, Daddy._

"You got a bruise from Daddy's dresser. Bad dresser," Reese said, now wrapping herself over Kate. She kissed her mother's cheek once, two times, and patted Kate on the shoulder.

She met his eyes over their daughter's head and they shared a grin.

"You think you could go back to bed now? Jack's all alone upstairs. And his room is new for him too."

"Oh, my poor baby brother," Reese sighed. "I can go check on him." She was already scrambling off their bed and running for the door.

"Check _quietly_," Kate insisted. "And then crawl into bed."

"Night, Mommy! Night, Daddy."

And it was over, just like that.

Kate's fingers wrapped around his wrist and he glanced back to her with a smile. She met his amusement with a little grin of her own and squeezed his hand. "Go back to sleep. I'll stay up a little bit to make sure she doesn't-"

On the baby monitor, they heard the click of the door opening and then Reese calling Jack's name softly. Kate groaned and moved to go after her, but Castle held her back.

"Wait, wait. I bet he sleeps through it. He's used to her."

Kate stilled, sank back down to the mattress as they listened. There was the rattle of the crib bars as Reese apparently came to stick her face through them, peeking in at her brother. No baby sounds, no stirring, at least not so far.

Suddenly Reese was humming to him, a song, no real words just a strange melody that rippled through the baby monitor and seemed to settle over the room.

Kate turned into him and pressed her face into his neck; he wrapped his arms around her and listened to Reese love her little brother.

The song did more to ease him than Kate's confident, worst-case-scenario plan; it vibrated the air around him and wrapped his restless mind in a cocoon of slow sound. Kate sighed against him, her body warm and pliant and loose, her fingers curled at his bicep. His eyes slipped shut and stayed that way, the sweet heaviness of love weighing him down.

Soon he was drifting to the tuneless lullaby of his daughter.

* * *

Kate woke when Castle stretched in bed and turned over; her eyes blinking open to the sleepy nuzzle of her husband and his squeezing arms.

She patted his shoulder and glanced to the windows, brilliant sunlight hitting her face. The sky was that colorless winter-blue, and the grey of the neighboring buildings was in stark relief to the light. She reached her arm out to the sun and cupped her palm, watched the way her skin glowed yellow and pink inside the morning.

His mouth opened at her shirt and a yawn cracked his jaw, making her chuckle. She withdrew her hand to grip the back of his neck, tug him off of her.

"Morning," he blinked, rolling over to his side. He flopped onto his back and let out another yawn, shivered a little as he did. Morning time with Castle. Never a dull moment.

"Morning," she said, giving in to the urge to press herself against his sleep-warm body. His arm came around her, a sloppy squeeze, and they laid together listening to the quiet.

"She'll sleep in," Castle said.

Kate nodded in answer.

"Jack?" he asked around another yawn. He must not have slept that well.

"Never know with him. He might be awake right now. He plays in his crib."

Castle hummed in a lazy laugh and his fingers tangled in her hair. She needed a shower and breakfast, start the day, get-

Huh. What were they doing today?

"Is there a plan?" she asked, lifting her chin to look at him.

His eyebrow quirked and he shrugged. "No. Not really. Take the kids around the city, I guess."

"Hm. Alexis and Dean-"

"Alexis has an early meeting," Castle interruped. "But she said she'd be free by lunch. Dean will meet us all for dinner."

"So let's just have an easy morning," Kate said. "Maybe play hide and seek with Reese so she gets to know the place, feel more comfortable here."

"So you feel comfortable here, you mean."

She huffed but couldn't deny it. "I lived here for - six months? Six months, Castle. I - it's still kind of just your place."

"Our place."

"Ours now. And where is your mother staying? I thought she'd come back with us." Her father had gone back to the cabin; he'd kept that property the last five years, asked a friend to maintain it. He had a place to go home too, but Martha?

"She stayed with some theatre people. I think she was enjoying being the center of attention. But I'm sure she'll be back soon enough. It'll be good to have her upstairs, but she might want her own place after having so much room in Versailles."

"I asked her about it," Kate said, shifting in the bed to stretch her back a little. "She didn't seem to have anything definite in mind. But I'd hate to lose her. She's so good for Reese."

"We'll see. And Kate - the loft doesn't have to be it. We can search for a house, a bigger apartment. A duplex. Whatever you think."

"We'll see," she echoed. She loved the loft but it would get crowded quickly, and she was afraid that Martha would feel cramped and leave, and she wasn't sure Reese could handle that. And they'd been discussing having a third, not soon by any means, but they'd run out of bedrooms if they did. Jack was such an easy baby and they'd delayed adding on to their family until she was strong enough and the healthy risks were minimal, and she _was_ getting older, so they-

Just then, that happy gurgling came from the baby monitor, the rustle of Jack shifting on the mattress.

"He's up," Castle said. "You shower. I'll get him and make coffee."

"Breakfast?" she bargained, lifting her chin to kiss the underside of his jaw.

"Fine. Breakfast too. Reese will want waffles anyway."

She hummed her appreciation and kissed him on the mouth, morning breath and all. "Thank you."

He chuckled and released her. "Stop tempting me and get going. First full day back in the city." Castle slapped her ass and wriggled his eyebrows as he got out of bed.

She watched him disappear down the hall and closed her eyes a moment, feeling the sunlight coming in the window, warm along her back, creeping closer.

She should get up.

But she laid there a moment longer, turned her face to the windows to soak up every beam of light. She let her hand reach out again, the sun cupped in her palm, the eye-aching blue of the sky just past her fingers, the day hers for the taking.

They were home.


	8. Chapter 8

**Unvanquished: Return**

* * *

_~Then~_

She'd put it off long enough.

The time came when _he's just a baby_ no longer kept the inevitable at bay. Jack was nearly six months old and completely easy-going - willing to go along with anything, laidback, happy. Castle was no longer working on his book tour, and the anniversary of her mother's death was creeping up on them.

She'd just wanted Christmas in Versailles, as they'd done it for so long now, and then she'd pack up her family and put all of their lives in the hands of the same city leaders who'd nearly killed her.

No, that didn't freak her out in the least.

It was possible she was exaggerating, but for a woman who'd been framed for murder and silenced so thoroughly, for a woman who'd been incarcerated and nearly beaten to death, for a woman who'd been poisoned and brought back to life in a morgue, for a woman who had fought exhaustion and weakness and her body's rebellion just so that she could hold her daughter - it didn't feel like much of a security, this flimsy piece of paper.

It was their last Christmas of certain, satisfying anonymity.

Kate was on the wide couch with the babies asleep around her, watching Castle finish the last of the Christmas presents from Père Noël, as Reese insisted on calling Santa, the same as all her friends. They'd adopted French traditions in so many things, but Christmas was rooted so strongly in Castle that there'd not been many differences over the years.

They'd gone as a family to the Palace today as snow had blanketed the gardens, the kids bundled up, Jack in his full body puffy coat and Castle carrying him around like a football. The kid had laughed and laughed, and Reese had actually giggled after him, engaging her brother for one of the first times, talking _to_ him instead of disdaining him.

When they'd gotten back, Castle had started the gas logs in the fireplace, and Reese took great delight in putting marshmallows on roasting sticks and holding them over the fire, just her and her daddy. The hot chocolate had come out at the same time, graham crackers crumbling to bits all over her living room floor, chocolate bars for the smores melting on Reese's fingers, but the two of them were such close and fast friends that Kate hadn't the heart to care about the mess.

She had finished Christmas Eve dinner - his family's usual tradition - and Jack had sat in his bouncy seat and gummed his favorite toy, drooling and smiling at her every time she came near to check on him. The apartment was warm and her father and his mother had come over with dishes of green bean casserole and a carrot concoction that Martha had discovered the year before, and everyone crowded around the table together, Kate wiping down Reese's sticky hands and face so she could kiss and love on her grandparents, their darling girl.

Dinner had been turkey and grilled potatoes, roasted chestnuts that Castle had done himself this year - so proud and puffed up when he'd shown them off. Reese hadn't eaten much after the smores, but dinner wasn't really for her anyway, and all the rich food and playing outside had worn her out, so she'd crawled to the couch to struggle against sleep.

Martha held Jack with her at the table, feeding him pureed carrots and rice cereal, while Kate sat close to Castle and smiled with him over their son, sharing stories about Reese as a baby versus Jack now. Jim had gone to the couch and cradled Reese against his chest, giving the girl the attention she craved, enough to let her fall asleep.

Kate had brought out their dessert late that night. The bûche de noël - Christmas log - was store bought, but it smelled divine. Chocolate cake rolled into a log with a creamy orange-flavored filling, a kind of chocolate frosting over it designed like bark. They'd eaten half the log before Martha and Jim had each retired to their side of the building, kissing cheeks and embracing their children and grandchildren.

But now.

Now she sat on her couch with her babies, Reese's dark head against her thigh with her face turned into Kate's stomach, Jack on his belly on the couch cushions, his feet tucked under her leg. She traced circles on his back as he slept, stroked her fingers at the nape of his soft, warm neck. His hair was thickening, dark as Reese's, but his eyes remained blue like his father's.

Speaking of, Castle was now individually wrapping some of Reese's stocking stuffers. The little girl Barbie doll - was her name Holly? something - the barrettes which had rainbow colored hair attached, which Reese would completely adore, the peppermint chapstick, the chocolate frog. . .

Kate chuckled and nudged his thigh with her foot as he crouched on the floor and wrapped the last of it. "You don't have to wrap the things that Santa puts in her stocking."

"I'm not wrapping Jack's - but you know. For Reese? Postpone the anticipation, draw it out." He rose from the floor and hung the stockings up side by side on the mantel; she saw he'd already filled hers as well. She'd have to get his done tomorrow morning - early - before Reese even woke. She had a surprise for him.

"She goes at her Christmas presents like you do," Kate agreed with a soft smile. "And I can't believe you got Jack so much. It's not like he'll know."

"But Reese will," he pointed out. They'd gone around and around it already. He came back to sit on the floor before the couch, looking suddenly tired.

"All right," she murmured, stroking her bare foot up his thigh. He clasped his fingers around her ankle and leaned in to kiss her shin.

"It's after midnight," he said, shifting forward to rest his chin on her knee. She pulled her hand from Reese's shoulder and stroked through Castle's hair, arranging it back from his face and then brushing it down over his eyes again. She cupped his cheek and he leaned into it.

"Merry Christmas," she said quietly.

"Merry Christmas, Kate."

He laid his cheek against her thigh, his head close to Reese's, and he lifted a hand to trace his daughter's nose and forehead, an irreverent smile curling his mouth. She knew he was thinking about how much fun Reese would be in the morning, a little screechy with excitement, her drama over the top and yet completely sincere.

Kate lifted her knee a little to get his attention and he lifted his head to look at her. "Carry her to bed?"

"Yeah," he sighed and got up, leaning over them both to scoop up Reese. Kate paused him with a kiss to his mouth, soft and warm, and then let him go.

She put her elbows on the couch on either side of her baby boy, stroked her fingers over his nose and chin, kissed him too. Jack didn't rouse, and she carefully slid her arms under him and cradled him against her chest.

She stood slowly to move for his bedroom, her lips against the top of his warm head, the lullaby already vibrating in her throat, conditioned now after six months. Castle was in the hall, shutting Reese's door behind him, and they stood for a moment together, close and not touching, sharing a look.

This was their last Christmas in this apartment. Their last Christmas Eve like this - the family around their mixed-traditions table, Reese chattering in French about her school's party, Jim and Martha only a door away, Jack lying under the Christmas tree and playing with the soft ornaments Kate had hung low for him, just like she'd done for Reese in Russia.

And then Rick leaned in and cupped his hand over Jack's skull, pressed a soft kiss to her mouth that banished everything but them.

"Christmas in New York next year," he said then. "It'll be as good as this. I promise you, Kate. It'll be different, but it will always be different - you can't stop the kids from growing up. But it'll be as warm, as beautiful-"

"As fun," she inserted, because she knew that was important to him too.

"As fun," he echoed, a smile starting up. "As demanding."

"As complicated."

"More so. Joyful."

She smiled back now. "Special," she added.

His grin dropped a little, and his fingers came to snag the ends of her hair, stroking softly. And then he lifted his eyes to her. "Free."

She bit her lip and nodded.

"Free, Kate. We'll be truly free."

She pulled in a deeper breath. "Free."

She wanted to believe.

* * *

Castle didn't comment when she started making lists and organizing their packing starting New Year's Day. He dutifully followed her instructions about the kids' clothes, filling two large, brand new suitcases with their things. He took Reese aside and calmed her confused and bewildered fits, made a game out of choosing which toys she'd pack to take with her, which ones to have the professionals move later.

At night, Kate was restless and kept getting up. He'd find her in the living room, sorting laundry or putting mementos into storage containers. He'd bring her back to bed, but she couldn't seem to stay. He said nothing when she packed their closet and left out exactly seven days' worth of clothes for him; he just quietly wore what she'd picked out.

Jack grew clingy, wanted to be on Kate's hip all the time, and Castle did what he could to be her hands while she was stuck soothing the baby. He thought maybe Jack was merely picking up on his mother's stress, and he did what he could to ease the way.

He found baby furniture online and had it shipped to New York, exact replicas of what they had currently in Jack's room. He snuggled with Reese in front of his laptop one rainy day and they'd picked out stuff for her new bedroom at the loft, her gasps of pleasure and excitement doing a lot to mitigate her fears over moving to a strange city beyond the sea. She had less tantrums after that, stopped getting on her mother's nerves.

Their apartment in Versailles began to empty of things; the furniture would remain for the most part, though Castle had some of it shipped because he had the money and he thought it would help Reese (and probably Kate as well). It looked colder and less friendly as the week went on.

On January 8th, he woke before Kate - she'd been pacing practically all night, going over her lists and saying she _knew_ she'd forgotten something - and he padded into the kitchen. He made coffee for them both, pulled fruit bars from the pantry for Kate, the last of them. He scrambled the last four eggs for himself and Reese, mixed up rice cereal for Jack, packed the last items into the open box on the counter.

Kate came bleary eyed into the living room and stopped short when she saw him. Her hands seemed to tremble and he only stayed silent, waiting on her.

She finally moved forward into the kitchen. He handed her a cup of coffee, already made, and stroked his thumb over her pajama-clad hip.

Kate stared down at her coffee and then took a slow sip, closing her eyes. He flipped the burner off on the stove, moved the pan of eggs to one side, reached for the paper plates.

And then Kate was pushing in against him, her coffee mug set aside so she could embrace him tightly, her mouth at his neck and her body shaking.

"Thank you," she was mumbling, her voice so grateful, so rushed, so confused. "Thank you. Rick. You're - I don't know how I'd have made it to today without you."

He wrapped his arms around her tightly, kissing the top of her head, her temple, her cheek. She stayed cocooned in him, taking deep breaths against his tshirt, until she seemed able to release him and go, a new thing.

She nodded as she stepped back, looking stronger, looking confident again. Serene. He'd somehow imparted the _rightness_ he'd carried with him since Ryan had said there was a deal on the table. He'd given her that.

Peace.

"Tomorrow," she said quietly.

"Tomorrow," he repeated, because it held so many things.

"I want to visit my mother's grave."

He smiled, curled his lips up in relief and pride. Look how strong she was.

"Yeah. I think that's a good idea." He leaned back against the kitchen counter. "Now go wake Reese. She'll take a while to get going and we have to leave in two hours."

Kate grinned back, stepped forward into him to press a hot, greedy kiss to his mouth, her tongue clever and teasing.

When she broke from him, left him stunned and a little breathless, she smiled like she knew exactly what she did to him - and reveled in it.

And then she turned to wake their kids.

They were moving back home.


	9. Chapter 9

**Unvanquished: Return**

* * *

~Now~

Castle put the plate before his daughter and tapped her nose. Reese hummed as she wriggled in her chair. She pressed her finger into the warm waffle and skated the butter into the dip, making little pools.

Kate thumped her ear and Reese ducked her head with a sly grin towards her mother. "Where's Cracker Jack?" the girl asked.

Castle saw Kate's flicker of surprised approval, and her hand turned tender, ran through Reese's ratty hair to draw the girl into a hug at her hip. "CJ's in his saucer, silly girl. Didn't you see him when you came downstairs?"

Reese turned her head and peered around Kate to check the living room. Castle saw his daughter's interest and nodded to Kate to encourage it. His wife grabbed Reese under the arms and lifted her down from the stool at the bar.

"Go say hi to Jack."

Whew, good. She wasn't serious about CJ then. Cracker Jack was Kate's way of getting back at him for Peanut Butter Cup, and he knew that, but CJ was too much. The kid wasn't a CJ at all.

Reese ran towards her little brother, still in her pajamas, and Castle opened the waffle press, pulled out another fluffy piece of perfection. He plated it and pushed it across the counter toward Kate, but she was still watching their kids interact.

"Hey. Waffle's ready."

She turned back to him and her eyes were melted chocolate and so warm. "This was a good idea," she sighed.

"Waffles?" Though he knew that wasn't what she meant, he had no idea what she _did_ mean.

"No," Kate laughed. "Coming back. Look at them."

"I don't. . .get how that relates." But he couldn't help looking at their kids as well, watching Reese with her face close to her brother and Jack pushed up with his feet as he tried putting the spinning blocks in his mouth. Reese was ducked down like she was telling him some great secret.

"We took away all the things she knows," Kate said. "All of her friends are gone. Her teachers. Her routines are all messed up. She's a social little girl - she needs people. But all she has left right now is her family. And look."

"Oh," he murmured, seeing it with new eyes. "We forced her to bond with her brother. Look how smart we are."

Kate laughed and turned back around to the counter, putting her elbows on the granite and leaning in with her lips pursed. He waited, put an innocent look on his face, until she narrowed her eyes and crooked her finger at him.

Castle gave in, pushing a kiss to her mouth with a chuckle. "Eat your breakfast, Kate."

* * *

She had meant to have them all leave the loft, go out into the wide city and explore, marvel over how they'd changed. But Reese was curiously uninterested, and Kate found herself unmotivated when it came down to it. She finished up the breakfast dishes, her hands raw with the heat of the water, loading them one by one into the rack.

When she turned around, Castle had taken Jack out of the saucer and had started one of those baby videos that both kids got sucked into. He'd put Jack in front of him on the floor to kick and roll over and scoot towards his toys, while Castle laid on his stomach and teased him with his favorite plastic truck. Reese was climbing Castle's thighs to stand on his back, and Kate paused a moment in the kitchen to watch.

They'd been all his dishes, all his coffee mugs and his spatula - not hers from France, the good one that bended just enough. His plates they'd eaten waffles off of, and his waffle maker he'd used.

At one time. She'd never have claimed those things six years ago. Seven. She'd still been in the process of feeling comfortable here, claiming it as theirs, and yet-

They were too much _them_ for her to feel it didn't belong to her now. She'd already started a list in her head: making plans to donate the spatula, those terrible brown plates, buy a couple new sheet sets for their bed - not in brown (what was it with him and brown?), oh, and a new mattress - that one was so flat, and she could've sworn she felt springs in her ribs last night. What else? Mm, rearrange the furniture in the living room so the kids could play on the floor with more space, maybe a new dining room table, smaller so they could knock elbows and be close at dinner time.

Yeah. She had a list going. It'd taken how long? A night. The process of a night spent here, in his loft, to make it into her own home.

The bar stools would have to go. Reese was already sticking her feet out the back and Kate was afraid she'd slide all the way down and break a leg or bust open her chin. And Jack had eyed that fancy metal dog all through breakfast, yearning for it; she'd have to put it somewhere either unreachable or at least off that table. He could topple the table over on himself easily.

The rest of the place had been baby-proofed by Castle's PA. The sockets, the drawers, the cleaning products. Everything had been thought of. And the baby paraphenalia around - that had helped too.

It was home.

She dropped the dish towel onto the counter and headed for their bedroom, her mind having wound down as it skipped over all the little details. She found lotion on the bathroom sink and spread it into her chapped hands, along her elbows, and then she went back into the living room to join her family.

* * *

He turned his head to press his cheek against his forearm, watched Kate step into the living room. Reese was perched on his shoulders and pleasantly popping his back, while the boy had made a game out of rolling over and grinning widely at him then chewing on his truck.

He grinned back and lifted his head to reach out for Jack, stroke a finger down his nose. Jack wrinkled his face and pushed against the rug, his body working hard to try to get him up. He'd be crawling soon. Very soon.

"What are you guys doing?" Kate asked, still standing over them.

"I'm being a back-cracker!" Reese exploded, getting up to her knees on his back. He groaned and laid his head back down on his hands, heard Kate laughing at him.

"You must be doing a great job."

"Daddy grunts when it's good."

"He does."

Oh, Kate really couldn't say it like _that._ She was making it naughty.

"We need a new mattress, Rick."

"I totally agree. What did the renters _do_ on that-" He paused and winced. "Never mind. Put it on the list. New mattress."

He'd just finished speaking when Kate settled on his back, her ass on his and wriggling. He groaned at the added weight. "Killing me here, girls."

"You asked for it," she shot back, bouncing a little in her meanness. His hips popped and he sighed in relief, felt his whole body melt out in release.

"Oh, that did it. Mommy's good," he mumbled.

Reese bounced up and dropped to her knees beside Jack, urging him on with her face in front of his, cooing at him just like Castle's mother always did.

"Mommy's good?" Kate whispered, and he realized she'd leaned down over him, her hands on his deltoids and her body pressed to his back. Her breath tickled his ear.

"Mommy's very good," he choked out, twisting his face to the side and receiving the touch of her mouth to his. Mm, very good indeed. "You're a baller."

She laughed against his mouth, stroked her fingers down his stubbly face. "I'm baller? What the hell does that mean?"

"A baller. It's a noun."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"It's etymology-"

"You have _got_ to be kidding me."

"It's from basketball. A guy who starts out playing in the neighborhood and goes pro. A baller." He grunted under her and half twisted, gripping one of her hips so he could see her face. She was was still perched on his pelvis, and now her knee was in an _interesting_ place. And she knew it. Saucy.

"You saying I've gone pro, Castle?"

"Uh. . .no. No. Just saying you have mad skills."

She couldn't seem to help the smirk that creased her mouth, even though she was shaking her head at him. Still she squeezed him with her knee and seemed to like even better the way he jerked and had to grab her thigh.

"Did you want to go out?" he asked, trying to change the subject. Away from her mad skills. "Now that my back doesn't feel like a pile of rocks."

"Maybe later. Kids are having fun. I'm enjoying myself."

"I bet you are," he laughed, and then he sat up, catching her around the shoulders as she toppled back. She wrapped her legs around his waist and stayed in his lap, and he leaned in and kissed her softly.

"How'd you know I was making a list?" she murmured, her lips brushing his cheek, and he knew she liked the burn.

"I know you. And I'm making one too."

He could feel her grin against his skin, and then her fingers were curling at his nape. "Love you," she murmured.

"You too." He stroked a hand down her back and she leaned away a little, looking in his eyes, studying his face. He wasn't sure what she was going to say, what would come next, and their moment was interrupted by a squawk from Reese.

They turned as one and saw Jack had made it to his knees, was rocking back and forth to his hands, and then he was gone.

Moving.

Crawling.

He was _fast._

"Oh crap," he muttered. "Get him. The remote."

Kate jumped off of him but Jack already had it - slobbered wetly.

* * *

They spent the morning racing after Jack - the whole family. Reese became the biggest help, darting ahead of her brother to snatch things away from his eager little hands, and yet, the kid never cried. He just spotted something else and went for it.

Martha came by for a few hours and she and Reese took over the duties of Jack Watch, allowing Kate and Rick time to unpack what they'd brought with them, reorganize things, make their lists. Martha said she was looking for a place close by, but Kate tried to convince her to stay with them. She wasn't sure she'd been successful. When Martha left, Jack was scooting over to the door trying to follow.

Six months old. She thought it was a little fast. Reese had started crawling at six months, nearly seven, but then she'd walked late. Her crawling had been a sedate thing, scooting around first, creeping next, and then that eventual progression to crawling. Jack had just skipped right ahead.

Every time Kate picked him up and planted him back square in the middle of the living room, he turned and gave her this sly grin, so much like Reese's naughty one. Like he was saying, _you and I both know I'm not staying here._

And then he was off again.

He'd ruined the remote control; it had stopped working and the television was stuck playing dvds. They were at a loss to explain how a few teaspoons of drool and the hard press of baby gums could do that, but there it was. Kaput.

He got one of Reese's hair ribbons and chewed it to tatters before Kate noticed; Reese didn't even pitch a fit. She giggled and held up the slobbery, purple mess, then flounced over to the trash can and threw it away. She left the other one in her hair.

She seemed to actually like her baby brother.

Amazing. It was a New York City miracle.

Castle had run out and bought baby gates, blocking him in the living room, but there was no way to gate him from the dining room and kitchen. The open floor plan wasn't conducive to baby wrangling.

"We'll have to cage him in the study," Castle suggested, glancing through the doorway into his office. Kate shook her head.

"Won't work. The bookshelves are open."

"We can put the typewriters on the bottom shelf. They're heavy."

"He'll ruin them," Kate warned, her hand on his hip as they studied the room. "You know he'll find a way. He'll chew on the keys. Figure out how to eject the ribbon."

"Oh. Not good."

"Books would get pushed right through," she added.

"What if we backed them? The shelves. Just along the bottom."

"Then he'd pull up and climb." Castle growled at her side and she laughed. "Good idea though. Back the bottom two shelves?"

"And then he'd climb those?" he sighed.

She hesitated, judging the distance, trying to anticipate what a baby like Jack would do. A baby that seemed more than just half-Castle. All Castle. Totally and compeltely all Castle. Smiling at the world and ready to get into trouble.

"He was such a good, easy baby," Castle lamented.

She laughed again, but a shriek from Reese had them running.

Jack had found the dishwasher.

* * *

Pizza for dinner. And Kate's idea. Would wonders never cease?

Jack had some wiley strength in his little body; he was a bear to wrestle down into the high chair today. But now that the pizza had arrived, he'd stopped to poke his finger at the crust Kate had dropped on his tray. Castle strapped him in while he was distracted and then moved to the bar stool where Reese was using her tights like slippers, skating her knees across the smooth wood.

"Sit down, Reese. You're going to fall out of the back of your chair."

She huffed but sat on her feet, still a little wriggly in her chair, and took the plate that Kate handed over to her. "Mm, cheese and pineapple. This is so good."

"You haven't even tried it yet," Castle laughed at her, cupping her chin with a hand to tilt her head back. He kissed her forehead and she squirmed, but she looped an arm back around his neck and he was stuck.

It took a moment of her hanging on to him, needing him or something, before she let go and he could move away, heading for his own pizza. He watched Jack, made sure the kid was content to gnaw on his crust, and then he reached for a plate.

"Got yours," Kate interrupted, nudging him away from the cabinet. He turned and took the plate from her, gave her a grin for it. She patted his chest and pushed him out of the way, going to sit beside Reese.

"So - first day at home. What'd you guys think?" he asked, pulling out the vegeterian special and a slice of Reese's pineapple. All her concoction - pineapple and chicken and red onions. Might be good, might be terrible.

"I liked chasing Jack," Reese said happily, bouncing a little in her seat. Kate put a calming hand on her shoulder and she settled again. "He's all over the place. And he bites."

"He bit you?" Kate exclaimed.

"It didn't hurt," Reese huffed, shaking her off. "I let him chew on my fingers, like he always likes to. But then I got bit."

Eh. He did like to chew on things. Castle had often given the kid his thumb to gnaw on lately. But then he'd bit-? Oh. Oh, he was-

"He's teething, Castle."

He smacked his forehead. "That explains the copious amounts of drool."

"Copious?" Reese asked.

"_Beaucoup_." Kate shrugged. "_Copieux."_

"Oh. Hmm. Copious," Reese sounded out. "I like it. Copious drool. _Bave._"

"_Très_-"

"English at home, Mommy."

Castle muffled a snort of laughter, got Kate's evil eye for that, and so he leveled the same glare on Reese for being disrespectful. Reese didn't cower, or even wither, she just ignored him, went back to delicately eating her pizza.

"Need a fork?" Kate asked her finally. "Castle, get her a fork from the drawer."

He turned and grabbed one, handed it over. He finally found the glasses and pulled a cup down, got some water from the fridge. He lifted his cup to Kate in silent question and she shook her head, showed him her own cup by nudging it from behind the fruit bowl.

He came around the bar with his plate and glass and then he sat down on the other side of Reese, closest to the high chair, and watched his family eat in silence for a moment.

Reese cut her pizza into dainty bites, seemed to relish each one. Jack was still gnawing on his crust, evidently teething. Maybe he had a tooth even now? He stood up again and tilted Jack's head towards him, pushed his finger past the bread crust to feel along the kid's gums.

Jack bit down.

"Ow!" Castle winced but swiped his finger over it. He turned back to Kate with a laugh. "You gotta see this." He pried the pizza crust out of Jack's mouth and put it on the counter, well away, and Jack whined at him. "Hey, open up for Mommy. Come on, Kate. Look at this."

He felt Kate crowding at his side, and then Reese worming in between them. Jack was looking at them all like they were crazy, but Castle got him to open his mouth.

"He has - jeez - he has two teeth," Kate laughed, leaning in a little closer now to touch them as well. Two on the bottom, hidden by his happy-baby smile for most of the day. "No wonder you were bit, Reese. Look."

"Yeah, I felt them."

"I guess he got them overnight?" he murmured.

"He was rubbing his face into me when I rocked him," Kate said softly. "I guess - well, that was it. Wow. Reese wailed for months before her first one came in."

"I was there," he said drily, giving her a look. Uh-huh. He was the one who'd had to hold her all night while she cried pitifully, little drama queen starting way back then.

"I cried?" Reese asked. "Did it hurt?"

"Well yeah. Those things are sharp, aren't they?" Castle answered, hooking an arm around her shoulders. "I bet Jack cries about them too. Sooner or later."

He was fussing now, arching his back and reaching for the pizza crust. They hadn't been putting him in a high chair for long, but he seemed to take to it. Castle stopped messing with the boy's teeth and handed him back his pizza.

"A day filled with milestones," Kate murmured at his shoulder. He gave her a grin and leaned in to brush a kiss to her mouth.

"Pretty special," he said quietly.

Reese was clambering back into her chair, taking up her fork again, and Castle skated his hand down Kate's arm, suqeezing her elbow.

She lifted her eyes to his, a wide smile breaking out across her face. She looked almost relieved to be smiling. "It has been pretty special. Thank you, Rick."

"Not my doing, really," he said back. "A joint effort."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself into him; he embraced her with a soft sigh and they stood like that for a long moment.

"Thanks for breaking me out," she murmured finally, a kind of laugh on her lips but a seriousness to her voice that made him squeeze her tighter.

"True love," he answered. "Nothing I wouldn't do."

* * *

_fin_


End file.
